What the Heart Sees
by FitchSwitch
Summary: AU: Emily Fitch has been waiting her whole life for something major to happen. Now there's a new girl at Roundview who just might be that something.
1. Chapter One: Emily

**A/n: I know what you're thinking. 'The fuck is this shit FitchSwitch?'. Well this has been _eating at my brain _so I figured maybe if I wrote it and put it up I'd finally get that chapter of NAIS up. And it IS going up. Soon. Anyway you can pretty much blame lizardwriter for all of this (including the summary, which she wrote. Gracias brain twin!). The chapters of this will be much shorter than my other ones. **

**Disclaimer: Nope.**

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><p>Have you ever gotten the feeling that your life is about to drastically change? When you wake up in the morning and there is an excited knot in the pit of your stomach that has no explanation, a tingling in your fingertips, a lightness in your steps?<p>

Emily Fitch had never gotten that feeling.

There were plenty of times in her life when she _should _have gotten it, for sure, but she didn't. Not the day their little brother was born, and not the days they started primary and middle school, and she definitely didn't feel it their first year of Roundview College, although Katie claimed that _she _did.

No, never in her seventeen years of life had she ever felt that small physical shift. That tiny psychological trigger that sparked a load of nerves that made you a bouncing ball of excitement all day.

Until the first day of her last year at Roundview.

She woke up as the first rays of dawn were just starting to creep across her ceiling. It was far too early for her to even consider waking up, especially with the amount of partying she and Katie and the usual gang did the night before to "celebrate" a new school year, air quotes necessary. But wake up she did. And then she stared at her ceiling for several incomprehensible minutes. Her fingers tapped out a beat against her duvet. Her eyes flickered and studied the cracks in the plaster. Her heart thumped a random beat against the inside of her chest. She didn't have a hangover.

_Something big was going to happen today. _

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><p>Nothing big happened all day.<p>

They went through the same usual routine: Emily got up and made breakfast, then went upstairs to wake up Katie. Her father came down and grabbed a piece of fruit before heading off to open the gym, and Emily went upstairs to wake up Katie again. Her mother came down and kissed her cheek absently before running out the door, and Emily went upstairs to pull the covers off Katie so she'd be uncomfortable. Their little brother James came downstairs and had to be sent back upstairs because he'd forgotten something in his room, and Katie was finally in the shower. By the time everyone was ready to leave they had five minutes.

Effy and Panda met them at the bus stop two blocks over like they always did and James went to go sit with his loser friends in the front while they rode in their regular seats at the back. Cook, Freddie, and JJ got on two stops later, and Thomas on the stop after that. It took twenty minutes to ride from Thomas's stop to Roundview. Always.

They sat through their first form meeting where Harriet tried to instill some sort of responsibility in them for their last year at Roundview and Cook inevitably spent the whole time commenting on how if you leaned to the left at a certain angle you could see her tits through her dress. The gang, occasionally split up into smaller groups, trudged through the usual mind-numbing first day of classes where all the teachers went over what they expected to cover this year and all the students were bored out of their fucking minds and probably playing hangman with their neighbor. The only bright spot was Emily's new politics teacher, Kieran.

The way he introduced himself to the class went as follows: he sat behind his desk with his feet on top of it eating a muffin when they walked in. He waited until he had finished his breakfast before he even addressed them, and he did so by standing up, brushing the crumbs off his shirt, and saying in a heavily gruff Irish accent, "We're all going to stand up, say our names and an interesting fact or two about ourselves. Ah shit," he sighed and Emily had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing because she'd never (ever) heard a teacher swear in front of a class before, "you all can call me Kieran, I just moved to Bristol with my wife and step-daughter, and I fucking hate teaching. There you go."

And then Emily did laugh because she couldn't stop herself. Kieran's eyes cut to her immediately and he smiled a bit. "Kind of you to volunteer yourself to go first Red," he grunted.

Emily's laughter died immediately and she stood up, but she wasn't nervous. The entire rest of the group was in the class anyway and everyone else had already been together in the previous politics class last year. "Hello," she said with a little wave to the class, "you all know me already. I'm Emily, I have a twin sister and I'm gay."

"Congratu-fucking-lations," Kieran said. "Next? You with the bling."

Effy stood up with the same bored and put-upon expression that Effy wore to do just about everything and said, "I'm Effy and my parents are getting a divorce."

Emily's eyebrows shot up and she mouthed 'what was that?' as Effy sat back down. Her friend shrugged and started doodling in her notepad, but it was obvious (to people who knew how to read Effy) that she wasn't even bothered by what she had said. It's not that it wasn't true, because it was and everyone in the group knew it, but none of them had expected Effy to stand up and blurt out her familial problems in politics class.

But then Emily saw the surprised look on Kieran's face and it clicked. Shock value. Emily's proclamation hadn't really meant anything because, especially after the debacle with Mandy last year, she was already out. Effy had wanted to shock the shit out of their new teacher and she'd done so. She smirked and Effy noticed; the brunette raised an eyebrow and smirked back.

"Well," Kieran spluttered, "shit happens. You, the one who looks just like the wee gay lass."

Katie was offended and stood up in a huff. "I'm Katie," she said pointedly, "obviously I have a twin sister named Emily, and I've never not had a boyfriend since I was seven."

"Everyone has to have a talent for something," Kieran said. Emily bit on the inside of her cheek to keep her grin in check. She quite liked Kieran.

The rest of the gang's introductions were pretty par for the course of their personalities. Emily could have told you what they would be or at least pretty close. Freddie said he'd once spent a whole night locked in a stranger's car, Cook said he'd once shagged ten girls in one week, JJ talked about how much higher his intellectual level was than anyone else in the room, Pandora said something incomprehensible involving the words "whacker" and "whizzer", and Thomas said he worked in a club and that he was originally from the Congo.

_God, _her life was predictable.

Where was that feeling of change now?

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><p>At the end of the day they all gravitated from their final classes to Effy's locker.<p>

No one had any idea why they did this. It had started last year and continued on to this year and no one saw any reason to change it. No matter what part of the building they were in they almost always found themselves in a group around Effy's locker at the end of the day.

Katie had an armful of textbooks and a sour expression on her face. "What the actual fuck," she complained. "Who the fuck gives out books on the first day of classes? Like, who even carries their bag to the first day of classes?"

Emily hiked her bag higher up on her shoulder and rolled her eyes. Katie looked at her and her face brightened.

"Emsy," she started.

"No," Emily interrupted before her sister could get another word out. That sweet, cloying tone of voice meant that her sister wanted something and Emily had a pretty good idea what that was. No way in hell was she carrying around Katie's books as well as her own. "It's your own damn fault you didn't bring your bag with you."

"That's not very sisterly of you," Katie whined.

Everyone in the group tried their very hardest to not look amused by that, because since when had Katie done anything remotely sisterly today? Katie saw the looks on their faces and huffed again.

"Whatever," she said. "It's not like I can't handle it. They're just a few books that some of you _boys _aren't chivalrous enough to offer to carry for me."

Emily rolled her eyes because – really? Freddie the perpetually lazy and Cook, who never did anything unless there was a shag in it for him? Thomas would but he was already carrying Pandora's books, and JJ probably would have tripped over his feet to help Katie but he already had more books than any of them.

"Whatever," Katie said again. "I'll just put them in my locker. We're not even going to need them for anything. Wankers."

By this point Emily had almost forgotten about her life-changing event and how it hadn't happened yet. The soul-crushing normality of the morning and school had completely distracted her from that magical feeling that she had woken up with, the feeling that said this day was special and full of possibility and chances.

At any rate, she hadn't expected her life-changing event to happen to Katie.

It went in slow motion, almost. Katie spun on her heel dramatically to show the world how completely pissed off she was, took two steps forward across the hall towards her locker, and absolutely _wrecked _into a girl walking down the hall. Katie fell in one direction, the other girl stumbled back against the lockers, and both of their books went flying.

As much as she accused them of lacking chivalry Cook was one of the first people over to help, but Katie waved him off. Katie was on the warpath now and god help anyone who stood in her way. Emily almost felt sorry for the girl who was kneeling down and reaching to grab one of her books.

Katie surged to her feet with all the force and subtlety of a freight train, because Katie was Katie and she never did anything quietly. She kicked the book the girl had been grabbing for so hard that it skittered halfway down the hall and she crossed her arms as she towered over her.

"What the _fuck _do you think you're playing at?" Katie demanded. "Did you not see me walking right in front of you? Are you fucking –"

Two very important things happened at nearly the same time.

Thing number one was: the girl looked up to answer Katie and Emily got a good look at her face.

The air in the room evaporated. Emily didn't know where it went but it obviously wasn't there anymore. It felt like someone kicked her in the chest. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. The only thing she could tell you about her body was that her heart was still beating, and she knew that because it was pounding so hard against her ribs it was liable to break through.

She was literally the most gorgeous girl Emily had ever seen in her entire life. Her hair was platinum blonde and fell to just around her shoulders and looked so fucking soft Emily had the sudden and almost uncontrollable urge to run her hands through it. Her face was almost uncomfortably beautiful in its perfection and when she bit her lip as she listened to Katie rant all Emily could think about was how much she wanted to bite on that lip instead. She decided to take advantage of the girl being distracted by her sister and her eyes travelled further downward, over a pale slender neck, the fitness of her torso and how good she looked in that green polo with the top two buttons undone, the gorgeously long legs in jeans that should be illegal she looked so mouthwatering in them.

Thing number two was: the girl opened her mouth and finished Katie's sentence for her.

For half a second Emily didn't even hear the words, just the shiver-inducing voice they were said in, but then she did and her heart skipped a beat.

"Blind?" the girl finished. She reached up to push her dark sunglasses more firmly against her face and Emily found her eyes riveted as she tried to take in as much of the girl's features as possible. "Yes, actually."

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><p><strong>An: Bet you didn't see that coming (ZING!). I mean, what? Oh God that was so tasteless. That is the worst joke I've ever made in my existence. Review?**

**See you on the flip side. ~FS**


	2. Chapter Two: Naomi

**A/n: ...holy reviews and notifications, Batman. Seriously if you could have seen my face when I checked my phone and saw the amount of emails I had sitting in it you would have laughed yourself sick and I know that because my best friend almost did. I cannot thank everyone enough for reviewing and alerting this story, _especially _since I wasn't sure how well the idea would go over. **

**Um, just a few quick things. By necessity Naomi's chapter gets a little descriptive in places and therefore its longer than Emily's chapter. Get used to Naomi's chapters being longer. Also, for everyone who also reads NAIS, I know I promised I would post the next chapter yesterday but I got held up so expect that later on tonight. I think that's it? Oh yeah, un-beta'd as always so all mistakes are mine.**

**Disclaimer: Seriously do I look like I own anything? I barely own my car.**

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><p>Naomi Campbell was awake long before her alarm went off. It didn't happen very often so she liked to cherish the few moments of absolute peace and quiet that she had. She could barely hear any other noise going on in the house: just the little creaks and pops that an older house normally made, the wind blowing the tree outside her window so that it scratched up against the side of the house, the soft snuffling breaths of her dog on the floor in front of her bed, the muffled movements of her mum moving around in the kitchen.<p>

She could feel the sun as it rose and warmed the air in her room. It threw it's rays across her skin in random patterns, probably cut up by the wind chimes and bits of hanging glass she'd put in her window. Outside the house she could hear a car go past on the street and a dog barked somewhere nearby. The world was waking up, but she had a couple more minutes to spare.

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><p>All too soon her few moments of peace were broken by her alarm going off. The opening guitar chords of one of her favorite songs started off soft and then slowly began to grow louder and louder. Naomi helped it by turning the volume all the way up. No chance of going back to sleep now, she was at least going to have a good soundtrack to her morning.<p>

"_It's empty in the valley of your heart, the sun it rises slowly as you walk, away from all the fears and all the faults you've left behind…" _

Naomi had spent the last two weeks that they'd lived in this house memorizing every inch of her room. It was the only room in the house she already knew by heart (the others would come quickly but it was imperative that she know the layout of her room first). They'd lived in Ireland for the past five years of her life, long enough for her to acquire the barest hint of Irish inflection in her voice, but they'd moved to Bristol when Kieran had gotten a better offer teaching politics at the college here. She'd known their old home like the back of her hand, but it would take some time for her to know this new one like the old one.

And she had a bathroom all to herself, connected to her room and everything. That was a bonus she hadn't been expecting but quite liked. She quickly stripped and jumped into the shower, the music of Mumford & Sons fighting for dominance over the rush of water.

"_So make your siren's call, and sing all you want, I will not hear what you have to say." _

Naomi rinsed off her hair and lifted her voice to sing along with one of her favorite verses.

"'_Cause I need freedom now, and I need to know how, to live my life as it's meant to be." _

A loud knock interrupted her shower time. Naomi couldn't keep herself from jumping and then she scowled as annoyance hit her. Shower time was, by designation, _her_ time, and her parents knew how she hated to be interrupted.

"Naomi!" Kieran called through the door. "Your mum is nearly done with breakfast and then she's taking you to school."

Naomi sighed and turned off the water. Well, it looked like that was it for Naomi-shower-time today. Her frown deepened as she wrapped a towel around herself and sorted through that sentence. It was wrong.

"I thought you were driving me today," she called back as she walked into her room toweling her hair dry. "Less car exhaust fumes or some ridiculous shit like that."

Her mum sort of believed in everything: feminism, environmentalism, never-wanted-to-shut-her-mouth-ism (a trait Kieran told her on a regular basis was very obviously genetic). She hated the fact that the family had two cars and probably would have made Naomi bike everywhere if she could have.

"I've got to go ahead and sort some shit out with my curriculum or some crap like that. Plus the Head needs your mum to fill out some more paperwork anyway."

"You mean you need to go ahead and eat a shitty breakfast bagel and smoke a fag without Mum knowing," Naomi corrected.

Kieran laughed and she heard him hit her door once with his palm. "Well that bit is just between you and me, yeah?"

"Yeah," Naomi agreed with a smile. She like Kieran quite a bit, always had, and had been quite glad when her mum married him. He was one of the few people she'd met who hadn't seemed to care whether she could see or not and treated her just like everyone else (actually he was quite a bit harder on her when grading her papers, constantly telling her that he knew she could do better than 'this bollocky wankshite').

"See you in school, ugly stepdaughter," he said affectionately. If he was inside the room he would have ruffled her hair. She always acted like she hated when he did that but after living without a dad for so long she secretly kind of liked the attention.

"Won't see you, evil stepdad," she replied automatically. He laughed again and then she heard him walk down the hall and clomp down the stairs the way he usually did. Kieran had a very distinctive walk.

Now mostly dry she took the two steps forward and six to the left that took her to her dresser. It was the same dresser she'd had in Ireland and her clothes were put away in the same drawers, so a few moments of running her hands along the inside of the tags produced a pair of jeans and a light green polo. She brushed her hair and ran her hands over it to check, and then realized she'd forgotten where she'd put her trainers the night before.

"Ugh," she groaned. "Bear, shoes?"

There was a bark from the other side of the room. Oh, right. She'd left them by her bookcase. Shoes now firmly on and bag in one hand, Naomi grabbed her watch and latched it onto her left wrist. She hit the button on the left side and a mechanical voice informed her it was 7:15 am.

Naomi whistled and with a click of claws and a few heavy breaths her dog was at her side. Naomi grinned and hooked two fingers into his collar. "How do you feel about breakfast, buddy?" she asked him.

Bear shook his head in a doggy way that she could only assume meant he was down for some food and they made their way down to the kitchen together, Bear warning her when she almost walked into the hall table that she always forgot was there.

The sounds of her mum moving around the kitchen only increased as she opened the door.

"Morning Mum," she said, and immediately ducked under the arm she could feel flying at her head as her mother turned around.

"Sorry!" Gina Campbell cursed a little bit. "Morning love, do you know where I've put that shallow pan?"

"How would I know where you put the shallow pan?" Naomi asked practically.

Her mother sighed. "You could at least try to help," she said and started to move around the kitchen again.

Naomi smirked. "Against my nature," she snarked. She grabbed a mug from the top left cupboard and poured herself some, making sure to keep her thumb a little inside the cup so she knew when the water was close enough to the top. She reached in front of her for the containers and ran her hand along the markings at the top until she found the one that was sugar. She settled at the table while her mother moved around her.

"Now about today," her mum started.

Naomi groaned and rolled her eyes. "_Mum_," she complained.

"Don't you 'Mum' me, Naomi Campbell," Gina said sternly. "Just try to make some friends today okay?"

She was very tempted to 'Mum' her again for the spite of it.

"I'm serious Naomi," her mum said, and Naomi could tell from the tired sound of her voice that her face was worried. She was standing next to Naomi's chair and seemed to be holding Naomi's breakfast hostage until they had this conversation. "It's difficult watching you be so isolated all the time."

Naomi rubbed a hand against her forehead like that would stave off the coming headache. "It's not that I don't try, Mum," she said wearily. "It's just that most of the other people my age are – "

"Ignorant self-involved twits," Gina finished in the long-suffering tone of someone who had heard that line too many times to count. "Yes I know. Try a little harder this time?"

"Fine," Naomi snapped. "May I have my eggs now?"

"You may."

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><p>Breakfast was pretty quiet while Gina gave her time to get into the right mindset. Switching schools was never easy at the best of times, and for Naomi switching schools was ten times worse. It meant memorizing a new layout and a new class schedule, getting new books, jumping into coursework that was either ahead or behind where she had been, and dealing with all of whispers that wouldn't die down again until she was no longer a novelty.<p>

And all right she'd admit it, she was nervous.

_But come on, _she reasoned with herself. _What could possibly be different about Bristol more than anywhere else in the world? _

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><p>The Head of the school, a woman who insisted they call her Harriet, was one of those formal over-achiever women. She tried very hard to assure Gina over and over again that Roundview was the best school for Naomi and that they would be 'very accommodating' and a whole lot of other tripe that Naomi stopped listening to almost immediately. Instead she sat outside of the office with her sunglasses on and listened to the sounds of the people in the school.<p>

Everyone was always so busy. People all walked in different ways, talked in different ways, moved their body through the air in formations unique to each person. You could often tell someone's personality by the way they moved. Self-assured and confident people, shy people, insecure people, insecure people who were trying to mirror the self-assured and confident ones. Most of the words blended into a dull hum of voices she could probably break through if she concentrated, but she didn't concentrate very hard. One voice got her attention at one point but it slipped away so quickly the person must have only been passing by an open door.

The paperwork took a very long time. It was lunchtime and Naomi was partway through listening to _Order of the Phoenix _on her iPod before her mum and Harriet emerged again.

"Well then, Naomi," Harriet said, and her stilted way of speaking was really starting to grate on Naomi's nerves. "There's no point in sending you to afternoon classes now so your first day shall be tomorrow."

_Great_, Naomi thought. _Starting classes a day late. The odds of putting off the inevitable stares just dropped from slim to none_.

"Harriet has offered to personally give you a tour of the building instead," her mum added in a tone of voice that warned Naomi to be on her best behavior. Naomi would have been anyway; the woman may have been annoying and a little too fussy but Naomi cared about her grades far too much to piss off the Head.

Her mum kissed her forehead and brushed a bit of wayward hair back into place. "Be good," she said quietly. "And you have my mobile number if you need me. Got your cane?"

Naomi held it up as an answer and she guessed that Gina nodded. "Good. I'll pick you back up at three o'clock right out front."

"I'll be _fine_, Mum," Naomi said irritably, although she knew her mum was just worried about her. "Go finish unpacking will you? I'm tired of tripping over those boxes in the front hall."

Gina laughed and then she was gone. Harriet got uncomfortably quiet, as most people tend to do, and she began to shift her weight back and forth.

"So a tour then?" the woman said brightly, and Naomi sighed.

_It was going to be a long day. _

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><p>She wasn't wrong.<p>

Harriet seemed like a nice enough lady but she seriously needed to get laid or something. At least a massage. Naomi was _blind _and she held herself better than this woman did. Everything Harriet did was stiff and structured. Naomi understood structure, it was imperative to her way of life, but the formality could have been avoided.

Harriet walked her around the whole school, and Naomi marked a few places like the canteen in her memory, although she knew it would be a while before she knew the layout of the ground well enough to make it there on her own. Harriet informed Naomi that a student would be her guide for a little while starting tomorrow and Naomi managed to keep her groan internal.

_Please, please anything as long as it's not a hair and body student_. It seemed they had those everywhere and they were universally annoying on a level above and beyond anything Harriet could have possibly reached.

She only listened to Harriet with half an ear until the final bell rang for the end of the day. At that point she caught a snippet of a sentence that set off the stubborn knot that always resided in her stomach.

Harriet had said, "Roundview will of course do everything in its power to cater itself to someone with your special needs…"

Naomi absolutely hated the phrase 'special needs'. Hated it with an intensity that bordered on unhealthy. But she reigned it in, because this woman was in authority and seemed like a bad woman to be on the bad side of, and because she really would rather avoid disappointing her mother on the first day. The third day, maybe, but not the first.

"Excuse me, ma'am," she interrupted with the barest amount of politeness in her tone, "but it's the end of the day and I'm sure you have much more important things to do then walking me around. If you could just point me towards where my mother will be waiting I'll just show myself out. It'll be good practice anyway," she tacked onto the end when she sensed Harriet hesitating.

"That sounds reasonable," Harriet answered instead, and proceeded to give directions that were way too complex for where she needed to get to.

Naomi just sighed and started walking instead of asking for her to repeat them, because really anything to get her out of the way was fine with her.

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><p>The whispers started almost immediately, from the moment that other students started piling into the halls. They gave her a wide berth and began talking in exaggerated voices after she'd passed like she was deaf and not blind. Naomi's jaw clenched. The stupidity of some people, especially kids her age, was astounding.<p>

She wasn't used to people not noticing her and so it startled her when she was walking down a hall that she was sure _wasn't _a hall Harriet told her to walk down and she ran straight into a warm and rather yielding obstacle.

A warm, yielding, _very loud and pissed off_ obstacle.

It startled her so badly that she barely managed to catch herself on the lockers behind her and the books that Harriet had given her to start off with went flying completely out of her hands.

_Shit. Shit fuck bugger fuck damnit. What a way to make an impression, Naomi. Give someone a concussion why don't you._

Whoever she hit was certainly pissed off, and also very unobservant. It was either a girl or a very high-pitched boy. No, a girl, she corrected herself when the other person shoved themselves to their feet and she heard the click of heels. She thought the hall had been mostly empty but now she could hear not only her victim but seemingly a medium-sized group of her victim's friends hanging against the lockers across the hall from where she'd fallen.

Naomi knelt down to and swept her arm forward to try and find one of her books. Her fingers connected just as her victim kicked the book viciously out of her reach again. From the sound of the skidding it got quite some distance.

Wow, her victim was a _bitch_.

"What the _fuck _do you think you're playing at?" the girl demanded. Fuck's sake that girl was loud. Naomi's ears were pretty sensitive to begin with, having to work much harder to make up for the important sense that she no longer had, and this girl was _assaulting _them. "Did you not see me walking right in front of you? Are you fucking – "

Correction, her victim was a _raving _bitch. Either that or very difficult to get along with. She couldn't decide which.

But, perhaps very twisted and sadistically, Naomi loved situations like this. She adored being able to take people down a peg or two and it sounded like this girl needed it in a big way.

So she smirked and pushed her glasses back up to where they'd been knocked a little askew and finished in a voice that had the tiniest hint of a bite: "Blind? Yes, actually."

She had never heard someone stop shouting so quickly in their life. Immediately both her bitchy victim and the girl's friends fell into complete silence. Well, not complete. Naomi could have sworn she heard a gasp from the group when she looked up. She let the silence go on just long enough for everyone to feel uncomfortable and then she spoke up again. "So if you could actually grab my cane for me that would be wonderful."

"Oh – um – shit – yeah," her victim choked. "And your books too. Shit. Well don't just stand there like assholes, help me pick up her shit!"

Naomi could only assume the last bit was directed at the girl's friends because there was suddenly a flurry of movement from the other side of the hall.

"Very smooth, Katiekins," a boy laughed. His voice was deep and he had a very distinctive accent. Naomi committed it to memory automatically. He would be ridiculously easy to pick out of a crowd.

"Shut the fuck up Cook," her victim (Katie apparently) snapped. The boy with the distinctive voice, Cook, only laughed harder. "Fuck's sake Em will you grab that one? It's right at your feet."

Someone close and to her right moved and then a book was being placed in her hand.

"Here you go," the placer said.

And Naomi stopped breathing.

_Speaking of voices it would be easy to pick out of a crowd…_

She wasn't even sure how to describe it. Nothing had changed from one moment to the next except this person talking. It was a girl. Her voice was low and a little raspy, like she was just getting over a cough. There was something very soothing and melodic about it. A little hypnotizing to be honest. If this girl told her to jump off a cliff Naomi would have done it with a smile on her face. She felt in flight and grounded at once, both rooted straight to this place where she'd first heard this girl's voice and also rocketed into the future where she heard it every day and never got tired of it.

Some absurd instinctive part of her wanted to reach out and touch this girl. Grab her hand, feel the warmth of her skin, ask her to say something again. Naomi had never had this strong of a reaction to another person in her entire life. It was a little frightening. She felt her heart jump up into her throat and stay there. She was suddenly terrified that the girl would move or something, that she would walk away back across the hall and back to her friends and forget about this moment that was so significant to Naomi.

_Stay, _she wanted to say.

"Thank you," she said instead.

Luckily for Naomi's peace of mind the other girl didn't move anyway, instead taking books from her friends and handing them over to Naomi. Their fingers brushed once and Naomi almost dropped the whole lot; when she didn't she thanked every deity she knew because that would have made her look idiotic.

"Can I?" that voice said again.

Naomi was tempted to say 'yes' , immediately and at the top of her lungs, but these strong reactions scared the shit out of her and anyway she didn't know what the girl was asking. Until she realized that the girl's hand was hovering just over her wrist.

_No you can't, _she wanted to say. _I don't know what will happen if you do. _

"Yes," she said instead.

The girl wrapped her fingers around Naomi's wrist and Naomi was pretty sure she could feel her pulse and how hard it was racing. She guided Naomi across the hall towards the group of people and Naomi found herself automatically liking the way the girl did it. It took a long time for her mum and Kieran to fall into a rhythm that wasn't all guiding and wasn't all pulling her along but a combination of the two. This girl did it automatically, keeping hold of Naomi's wrist just enough to effectively lead her without acting like she was dragging her along.

Not to mention how lightheaded Naomi felt the moment the girl touched her. She began to wonder if maybe she had hit her head against the lockers or something. This was ridiculous.

They got to the other side of the hall and the girl squeezed her wrist very briefly before letting go. Naomi absolutely would not allow herself to reach out and grab her hand. She forbade herself. She wouldn't do it.

"You got a name Blondie?" the boy called Cook asked her and provided a welcome distraction.

'_Try harder this time?' _her mother had pleaded. Well, maybe just this once she could try a bit harder.

"Normally I go by Naomi," she said. "But I suppose Blondie works just fine."

Cook snorted a laugh and said, "I like you Blondie. You got spunk."

"One of my many talents," she said dryly and bowed a little.

"Hello Naomi," someone else said, and she turned her head towards the voice. It was another boy, his voice was deeper and came more from his chest, and he had a beautiful fluid accent. "My name is Thomas. So pleased to meet you."

It was impossible not to smile at this boy. Something about the presence he exuded was so genuine and friendly. She gave him her best grin and held out a hand. "Hello Thomas, I'm very pleased to meet you as well. You have a gorgeous voice."

His hand was large and warm as he shook hers. "And you are simply gorgeous," he said in such a way that it didn't even sound like a come-on but a statement of fact.

"Too right you are!" Cook howled and Naomi jumped. She hadn't expected him to be so loud while they were standing so close together. Someone very quickly put their hand against her arm but before she could figure out who it was the comforting pressure was gone.

Someone, she thought maybe Katie, hissed and there was a smacking noise. She must have smacked him in the arm because he immediately said "Sorry Blondie. Thommo's right though, you are fit as fuck. Fancy a willy-waggle with the Cookie Monster?"

Naomi felt her mouth drop open. "Um, excuse me?" she asked incredulously.

"Unfortunately he's serious," someone else said. Naomi felt herself frowning. Exactly how many people were in this group? This was another girl. Her voice was lighter, the way she spoke more calculated. "You may as well answer him."

"What's with all the glares?" Cook complained. "Blondie's fit, I'm fit, we can get together and feel all right."

"And she's blind so she might even go for it," another boy said sarcastically.

There was a full five seconds where nobody moved. Naomi was pretty sure they were scared to breathe. But Naomi felt a laugh building in the back of her throat and the moment she giggled it set off her special girl (_fucking hell when had she started referring to this girl as __**her**__ anything that had to stop immediately) _and that set off someone else and before long everyone was laughing uproariously.

It was amazing how she almost _felt _the awkwardness disappear from the air. It had never been like this before. She'd never experienced the nonchalant acceptance this group was exuding.

"For the record, Blondie," Cook said, breaking into her thoughts, "I'm very attractive."

"I have no doubt," Naomi said with the barest hint of sarcasm. Someone laughed again close and to her right. Naomi's only guess was that it was that girl again. Her pulse sped up a little and it made her clench her fist. That was weird. That was a weird reaction and she wasn't sure she liked it.

After that initial breaking of the ice everyone didn't hesitate to introduce themselves. The girl who had told her to answer Cook was Effy, and the boy that had made the joke was Freddie. There was a boy who talked very fast and got very what the other's called 'locked-on' about the odds of her losing her sight at such a young age, whose name was JJ. There was a high-pitched and excitable girl called Pandora who liked to be called Panda and used words like "whizzer" a lot. Her victim was indeed called Katie, and she kept a hold of Naomi's hand when they shook.

"I really am, um, sorry I guess," she said. The apology sounded like she was pulling teeth but Naomi accepted it. She already had a pretty good handle on Katie's personality and it felt like the girl probably wasn't used to apologizing.

"It happens," she said with a shrug, and she actually felt the muscles in Katie's hand relax.

"Oh," Katie said as if she had forgotten. "And this is my twin sister Emily. Not that the twin part matters, obviously. Cause you can't – you know."

Naomi wriggled her hand out of Katie's increasingly nervous grasp and held it out in the air to her right. "Very nice to meet you Emily," she said. Her tongue buzzed at the name rolling off of it.

The same warm hand that had pressed against her arm shook her hand briefly. "Likewise," Emily replied.

"So Naomi, are you new here? I mean obviously you are new here because you are rather distinctive and I don't think we would have missed you around the halls before –"

"Yes JJ," Naomi interrupted before he could get locked on again. She'd noticed the others do this to him so he was probably used to it. "I just moved here with my mum and my stepdad from Ireland actually."

She thought she might have heard Emily breathe out a 'holy fucking hell' on her right but she couldn't be completely positive. She was trying to split her attention in too many different directions.

Naomi wasn't sure exactly how it happened but after she mentioned that Harriet was assigning a student guide the group decided amongst themselves that one of them would do it. Naomi listened bemusedly as they debated back and forth about who would be the best fit for the job.

While they did that Naomi did something she could only describe as testing the group. She tuned out their voices and listened to what the people passing around them were saying instead. She learned quite quickly that there were any number of people who would shag almost everyone in this group. Naomi seemed to have landed herself with a very attractive and mildly popular group of…friends? _Were _they friends? They were certainly acting like it now.

As with all college students, she learned mostly shallow things. She learned that Freddie was tan and a bit of a heartthrob and that Cook was muscular and 'well fit' as well. She learned JJ had curly hair and Panda was dressed in bright clashing colors. She learned Effy was absurdly beautiful and had blue eyes and was, as one boy put it, 'the most shaggable piece in this whole place'. She learned that Emily and Katie looked different enough for people to be able to tell them apart. She learned Katie's hair was dark. But most importantly she learned that Emily had hair that was so bright red the girl talking about her would kill to learn how she does her hair to which her friend had replied in a voice that Naomi did not like _at all _that she'd kill to learn anything Emily wanted to teach her.

Emily herself spoke up then and Naomi's heart did a yo-yo motion; from her throat to her stomach and back again.

"I'll do it," Emily said. "If that's all right with you Naomi."

"Fine," Naomi managed to say nonchalantly. She drudged up a half-smile. "Think you could start now though? I was supposed to meet my mum out the front entrance about," she paused to quickly get her watch to read out the time (which Cook called 'fucking cool'), "ten minutes ago. She probably thinks I've fallen down a well or something."

"Ems and I need to catch the late bus back," Katie protested and Naomi's heart dropped again.

"I'm heading that way anyway," Effy said instead. "I'll lead you."

They said their goodbyes, Naomi and Emily agreed to meet in front of Harriet's office before first bell in the morning, and they all went their separate directions.

"Your mum look a bit like you?" Effy asked after several minutes of not-uncomfortable silence. "Small-ish car? Waving rather maniacally?"

Naomi sighed. "That would be her. Thanks again, Effy."

"No problem," Effy said firmly. She pressed her hand briefly against Naomi's shoulder. "That's what _friends _are for. See you tomorrow."

It seemed to Naomi like Effy stressed the word 'friends' for a reason. Almost like she knew that Naomi was questioning it a bit. It was kind of fucking eerie.

She shrugged off the feeling and went over to her Mum's car (Gina beeped once so she could orient herself and then again when she was a little closer). She lid into the front seat quickly. "Sorry I'm late," she apologized before her mother could say anything. "Got a bit held up."

Her mum didn't drive anywhere right away. "Make any friends today?" she asked immediately and in a weird tone of voice. Naomi couldn't quite place it but she groaned at the question anyway. "That's not how we answer, dear," Gina chided.

Naomi sighed. "I met some people," she admitted reluctantly.

"Hmm," her mother hummed. "Was one of them a petite redhead by any chance?" she asked.

Naomi blinked in surprise, although of course her mum couldn't see that behind her glasses. She crossed her arms to forestall the erratic beating of her heart. "How do I know if she was a redhead?" she asked grumpily.

Gina made a little noise and Naomi realized that her mother was greatly amused by something. "I didn't specify gender, love," she pointed out and Naomi cursed internally. "I'll take that as a yes. And don't pretend like you don't listen to everything people say around you and to the people you meet to get a feel for them. I'm sure you'd have learned she had red hair given the shade it is."

"How do you even know any of this?" Naomi asked incredulously. "Do you have spies? Flying monkeys?"

"Wouldn't that be something?" Gina chuckled. "But no. There's a redheaded girl reading a book over by where the buses stop and she looked up when you walked out of the door and waved to your friend."

Emily was there. Emily was close by and she had watched to make sure Naomi got into her mother's car. Her stomach twisted up and she scowled. Naomi _hated _it when her mother was right. "Just drive, all right? We skipped lunch and I'm bloody starving."

"Not an ignorant self-involved twit then?"

"MUM!"

Thankfully her mum didn't say anything else and pulled away from the curb.

And Naomi filed that bit of information away: Emily was petite.

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><p><strong>An: Suuuuuuuper nervous. So how does everyone think I did? Review and tell me? (Shameless beg for reviews is shameless. It's your own fault. You lot spoiled me with the first chapter.) **

**Also, special thanks to my brain-twin lizardwriter for writing the dialogue between Gina and Naomi in the car when I was stuck. She's awesome. Go read her stuff. Seriously. Do it. **

**Cheers! ~FS**


	3. Chapter Three: Emily

**A/n: So 100% true story about this chapter? I actually had a legitimate panic attack because I was worried you guys wouldn't like this chapter as much as the first two. Lizardwriter had to talk to me down. Speaking of my brain twin, you can thank her for not only giving me a few well-deserved (imaginary) smacks around the head, but also for staying up way past her bedtime to "semi-professionally" beta this for me. So if you haven't read lizardwriter's stuff yet go do it immediately. **

**Also, all the reviews...I'm speechless, you guys. Thank you. Thank you so very much. And please enjoy reading this.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. There is nothing in this that I own in any way. No, that's not true. I own a pair of sunglasses. **

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><p>If Emily woke up for the first day of school with her head in the clouds, she woke up the second day with her heart in the stratosphere. She rolled over so she could watch the sun finish rising and hugged her pillow to her chest. Everything felt wrapped in cotton and sunshine and loveliness this morning.<p>

The problem was: Emily knew she was being sort of ridiculous, but couldn't seem to find it within herself to care. So what if she had a crush on the new girl? Naomi was gorgeous and had taken Katie down a peg or two, which Emily always took a little joy in seeing happen (not that Emily didn't love her sister, but _Jesus _sometimes Katie deserved it).

_Naomi_. Was it pathetic that her heart had jumped when the blonde girl had introduced herself? That hearing Naomi's voice slip quickly into a sweet Irish accent when she told JJ she'd lived there had affected her so strongly she'd actually cursed out loud before she could stop herself? That she'd watched from the buses to make sure she got to her mother's car all right? Probably.

_Oh God I'm a stalker. _

The loud buzz of her alarm surprised her so much she almost leapt out of her skin. Her hand reached out and smacked off her alarm clock quickly and a sudden rush of bright energy filled her. She bounced out of bed and bent over to kiss Katie on the cheek.

"Morning, Katie!"

"Ugh," Katie swiped at her cheek with her sleeve and performed the same roll-over-hug-pillow move that Emily had done; she watched her twin through bleary eyes as Emily pulled jeans, a white shirt, and a grey cardigan out of her wardrobe. "S'not morning yet," Katie groaned squeezed her eyes shut. "Go back to sleep loser." She opened them again for a second. "The black hoodie instead, with the white accents."

Emily just shook her head and went to go take a shower (she'd learned early on that it was easier to wake up early and shower than sleep in for a bit and have Katie take all the hot water). But when she came back to get dressed she made the switch anyway. Katie was usually right about these things.

"Come on, Katie," she said when she finished brushing her hair straight. "Get up or we'll be late for college."

Katie lifted her arm and smacked at the empty air in reply.

"Lazy," Emily taunted and she quickly shut the door behind her so that the pillow Katie threw at her hit the door instead. She just laughed because at least now Katie was awake enough to throw things at her.

Downstairs was eerily quiet when Emily walked into the kitchen. A bright yellow Post-It stuck to the fridge caught her attention and she pulled it down.

"_Girls_," she read out loud mockingly, "_left early to go to your aunts for the week. Food money is in the jar. Behave and look after your brother. Exclamation point! Love, Mum and Dad._" She rolled her eyes and slapped the note back where she found it. "Sounds like a fun time."

The shower upstairs started running again and Emily took that as permission to turn the radio on while she made breakfast. She turned it up as high as it could go and giggled evilly when James started shouting at her through the walls. He could shout at her all he liked, the pervy little bastard, he needed to get up anyway and she still had to get her revenge for the personal pieces of clothing that kept suspiciously disappearing from her room.

Emily found herself bouncing along to the opening electric guitar as she went around getting cereal and milk and bananas. She danced over to the cupboards for bowls.

"_I want you to want me," _she sang as she hopped up onto the counter to reach a top shelf. Sometimes being short sucked. _"I need you to need me. I'd love you to love me." _She hopped off with a dramatic flourish that absolutely no one was there to witness. _"I'm begging you to beg me." _

She grabbed some spoons and started twirling them around between her fingers. _"Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying? Oooooh didn't I, didn't I didn't I see you crying?" _

"Wow! You're crazy, bitch!"

Emily stopped dancing immediately and threw one of the spoons at her brother's head. It bounced off his skull and hit the door he'd just come through before falling to the floor.

"OW!" James yelled and rubbed at his forehead. "Mum, Emily's hitting me!"

"She and Dad left early to go to Auntie's, twerp," Emily grinned smugly. She went over and turned off the music. "Katie and I are in charge this week."

James's eyes got big with fear and rightly so.

"Fuck yes," Katie matched Emily's smug grin as she strutted in and immediately smacked James upside the head. "Listen up, brat. You call us Katie and Emily, not 'bitch'. All your coursework gets done when you get home from school before you even think about picking up a video game. You go to the McPhersons when Emily and I go out and I swear to God if you tell Mum and Dad anything that happens this week I will kick the shit out of you."

James pouted and sat at the table. He viciously dug into the bowl of cereal Emily put in front of him. "This sucks," he said.

Emily's grin didn't disappear even when she sat down and attempted to eat breakfast and do her coursework at the same time. The book was open next to her bowl and she alternated eating and writing. Every once in a while this led to her almost taking a bite out of her pen.

"Didn't you do that last night?" Katie asked, giving her an odd look. Usually it was _Katie _desperately filling out coursework at the breakfast table.

"No," Emily mumbled around a mouthful of food (Katie made a face and said 'charming'), "I was busy."

Her smile intensified when she thought back to _why _she busy. In a roundabout way it was sort of Naomi's fault she hadn't done her coursework last night. She'd had her notebook open on her bed but instead of doing work she'd spent the majority of time doodling half-drawn silhouettes into the margins and listing colors. She'd been trying to guess the color of Naomi's eyes.

_Because that is not obsessive at all, Emily. Good job. Stalker points: 1. _

Even now in the top right-hand corner of her notebook there was a list. Brown, grey, green, blue. She'd spent a good hour trying to pull up images of those colors alongside Naomi and kept coming up blank. Brown, grey, and green were all crossed out and blue was underlined with a question mark.

Katie was still looking at her weirdly. "Why are you acting like a freak this morning?" she demanded.

Emily tried to tone down her smile and scowl at her sister instead, but she couldn't quite put enough anger into it. "I can't just be in a good mood?" she replied.

"There's being in a good mood and there's looking like you just had sex all night. Which I know you didn't."

Emily rolled her eyes and stood up to put her dishes away. James thrust his empty bowl at her and disappeared upstairs before she could yell at him that she wasn't his slave.

"Why the hurry to get to school today anyway? It's like the second day of classes, Ems."

She shrugged as she rinsed off her spoon. "I promised I'd show Naomi around today remember?"

"Ugh," Emily didn't have to turn around to know the face Katie was pulling, "we're going to have to see her again today aren't we?"

"You don't like Naomi? Why?" She refrained from asking what Naomi had ever done to her because that part was pretty obvious.

"I just don't like her."

_Ah_. Emily smiled a little to herself. Naomi had embarrassed her. Not only that but she'd done it in front of their friends as well. Katie didn't deal well with situations in which she came off as less than perfect.

"Why the fuck do you have blue written all over your notebook?"

"Why are you looking through my notebook?" Emily whipped around to glare at her sister.

Katie frowned at her. "Because I totally left my notebook at school yesterday didn't I? Forgot that history wanker gave us work to do. So what's with the color confusion, Picasso?"

"It's nothing," Emily tried to shrug it off nonchalantly. "I was just, uh-" her mind scrambled, "trying to figure out what paints I should buy later on today."

"Why'd you pick blue?"

"Gee, Spanish Inquisition, I don't know. Because it's my favorite?"

Katie's face scrunched up. "Seriously? It's such a masculine color."

Emily felt herself relax a little. Bickering with Katie was something she could handle easily. "Well what's your favorite color?"

"Um, red. Duh. Why do you think I dyed my hair it?"

"Because I did?"

Katie waved her hand in the air as if to say 'whatever' and started casually flipping through the pages until she got to Emily's more serious drawings in the back and her smile changed. Emily liked when Katie looked like that; it was so affectionate and proud it made her remember why she loved her sister even when she was being a twat. "Christ, Ems, these are good. Like, really good." When she looked at Emily again her smile was sad. "Have you talked to Mum again about going to school?"

"No," Emily snatched her notebook back and stalked upstairs. Katie followed her. "And I don't think I'm going to. James! Five minutes!"

"Maybe she'll have a different reaction this time," Katie suggested.

"Unlikely," Emily sat down on her bed and sighed. When she looked up again Katie was sitting across from her on her own bed, her head cocked to the side and her eyes sympathetic. "It's just – you know – I just," she couldn't seem to form the words properly in her head, "Mum has you to take over the wedding business. It's pretty much what you're _made _to do and you'll be so fucking good at it and you want to do it, right?" She waited until Katie nodded enthusiastically. "And James spends so much time with Dad at the gym he might as well live there. She doesn't _need _me."

"I need you," Katie blurted out.

Emily's heart melted and she leaned over to kiss Katie's forehead. "You know I didn't mean it like that." She sighed again. "Come on, we're going to be late."

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><p>They got to the stop just as the bus was about to pull away, but the driver was fond of them (well fond of ogling Katie's tits anyway) so he stopped and waited for them. Katie sat with Effy and they were unusually conspiratorial the whole trip, while Emily listened to Panda with half an ear as she talked about how lush Thomas had gotten over the summer and did Emily think that maybe he'd take her out for surf and turf?<p>

Her whole life's routine seemed off kilter after only one day, and as Emily watched the outside of the bus blur into different shades of brown and green and grey and blue, she wondered if maybe that was Naomi's fault too.

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><p>She didn't see platinum blonde hair anywhere when she got to the administrative offices so instead she just knocked on Harriet's door. Doug let her inside to see Harriet talking at length with a hair and body student who was studying her nails and obviously paying the barest amount of attention to the head of their school.<p>

"So I have to, like, walk this random blind girl around?" the girl asked vapidly when Harriet finished talking.

Emily closed the door behind her so hard it made a satisfying thunking sound against the wood. Harriet and the girl jumped and turned to look at her. Emily couldn't stop the disapproving frown from crossing her face any more than she could stop the words that came out of her mouth directly afterwards.

"That random blind girl has a name," she said hotly, "and it's Naomi."

The hair and body student blinked like she couldn't quite comprehend who this new person was and why she was yelling at her like she'd done something wrong. Emily figured she probably didn't have the brain cells to deal with more than one problem at a time.

She turned away from the girl sharply, completely and utterly dismissing the girl from the conversation in such a way that it was clear even Harriet was surprised.

"Actually, ma'am," she said to Harriet while everyone continued to stare at her, "I met Naomi yesterday and she's quite nice." _Quite gorgeous, _her mind supplied unhelpfully, _quite splendid, quite wonderful_. "I'd be more than willing to show her around." _And do other things to her. _She gave that part of her brain a firm smack. _Oh shut up! _

"Ah yes, well," it was the first time Emily had ever seen Harriet at a loss for words. "That's very generous of you," the older woman blinked as she obviously tried to deduce which one she was, "Miss Fitch. If you're already friends with Miss Campbell, I see no reason why you shouldn't be her student guide."

Emily bit the inside of her cheek to hide her smile. Naomi's last name was Campbell? Poor girl. She probably had so many anger management jokes thrown at her.

The girl in the corner snorted unattractively. "Her name is Naomi Campbell?"

Any amusement Emily had felt hearing Naomi's last name disappeared immediately. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" she asked, channeling Katie at her downright bitchiest.

"Yes," Harriet waved a hand in the air absently as she piled Emily and Naomi's schedules and what she could only assume were some more books of Naomi's onto her desk. "Please feel free to consider yourself excused Miss Robertson. Your services are no longer required."

The girl looked confused and disoriented but left anyway, glaring when Emily waved at her mockingly as she went. She couldn't help it; hair and body students grated on every nerve she had, apparently that one in particular. She wasn't worried about retaliation. It was no secret her little group had quite a bit of pull in the popularity pool. Effy's brother Tony had been King of the Land, as it were, and Effy had inherited the Queen Bee title by default (although she certainly didn't work too hard to keep it). It was more like people were just afraid to challenge her and Emily could sort of understand why: the Stonems always projected the slightest hint of danger.

She shook herself out of her reverie in time to hear Harriet dismiss her for the time being to go and collect Naomi. Emily protested inwardly to her making it sound like Naomi was a wayward child, but she decided arguing with the Head would probably not be the smartest thing she'd ever done and she went into the hall instead.

_Jesus Christ, was this girl actually for real? _

Naomi was leaning against the wall across from Harriet's door. Her hair was gently curling and a bit had fallen in front of her face, her long legs were encased in tight black jeans, and her light blue jumper had a white skull and crossbones on it. Emily couldn't stop herself from breaking into a grin when she noticed the skull's eyes were actually shaped like hearts instead of normal. It was cute.

And if Naomi was going to be walking around dressed in outfits that made her look that attractive Emily was not going to be held responsible for the amount of drooling that would occur.

Naomi's face was turned downward towards a book in her left hand while her right hand skimmed across the pages. It took Emily a minute to realize she was reading Braille, her lips moving along to the words her hand was feeling. Emily focused on those lips: the way they moved, the shapes they formed as she mouthed the words.

Emily was knocked out of her daydream by someone slamming a door nearby and she mentally gave herself more stalker points for watching Naomi from across the hall; she had to be in the double-digits by now.

She intentionally scuffed her shoe against the linoleum and Naomi's head shot up.

"Good morning!" Emily greeted cheerfully.

Naomi smiled and closed her book. "Good morning, Emily."

Emily wasn't quite sure how her heart kept beating when Naomi smiled at her like that. Instinct, probably. It certainly didn't have any help from her brain.

Before either of them could say anything else Harriet came bustling out into the hall.

"Well it looks like you've got most of the same classes," she said as she shoved the whole lot of things in her hands into Emily's arms. "Unfortunately, Naomi, we're missing a few copies of some of your English texts so you'll have to find someone to be a reader until we can get some."

"I don't mind if Naomi doesn't," Emily offered a tad too eagerly, having already noted they were both slotted to endure Josie and her hand puppet.

"I don't mind," Naomi agreed quickly. The speed of it made Emily's stomach flutter but she shoved the feeling down. _Get a hold of yourself, Fitch. She's probably straight, and even if by some miracle of the gods she is not, you're acting awfully pathetic right now. _

"Wonderful," Harriet clapped her hands and looked awfully pleased with herself for someone who hadn't actually done anything. "Then I leave you in the capable hands of Miss Fitch," here she stumbled again, "whichever Miss Fitch this happens to be."

"Emily," she and Naomi said at the same time.

"Splendid. Off you go then." Harriet shooed them away.

Naomi was frowning as Harriet disappeared back into her office. "Can she really not tell you apart?" she asked.

"I think it's too much effort," Emily shrugged. "I'm surprised she knew my last name to be honest. At least she knew I was part of a matching set."

"Well I can tell the difference," Naomi said firmly. "And if even _I _can see it…"

The butterflies were back in full force when Emily looked up from their schedules to see Naomi grinning playfully, inviting her to share the joke. So Emily laughed and added another thing to her rapidly growing list of things she knew about Naomi Campbell: she was gorgeous, smart (apparently since she shared a math class with JJ and a history class with Effy), and funny.

It was when Naomi turned around to grab her bag that Emily noted her cane was folded up and tucked inside one of the pockets.

"Don't you need that? Your cane," she qualified when she realized Naomi wouldn't know what she meant.

"Not if you're with me today," Naomi said. She held out her left arm slightly to the side so Emily could grab her elbow.

And that's when Emily realized that guiding Naomi around all day meant _guiding Naomi around all day. _Constant contact. All day.

Uh oh.

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><p>It was surprisingly easy to spend the day with Naomi. And it was also dangerous.<p>

Not in the physical sense, in fact it was the safest she'd ever been because people tended to give them a nice space to walk in, instead of her having to dodge people's arms and bags (she was little okay? It was dangerous for her in the halls). It was dangerous in the mental sense. Before, Emily had just been crushing on Naomi's face, how gorgeous she was and how her smile did wonderful things to Emily's heart and how her occasional Irish inflection on words did wonderful things to other parts of Emily's anatomy. Now she had a deeper insight into the kind of person Naomi was.

She wasn't actually aware that it was possible to crush harder.

They spent the whole day together, besides when she left Naomi with JJ for math and Effy for history, and so now she knew that Naomi also had a sharp temper and a sharper tongue, that she had a wit that was so quick she found herself biting her lip to keep from laughing in class sometimes, that she could be so casually kind to people it was ridiculous. All of these things kept compounding in her mind.

And the need to see the color of her eyes grew.

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><p>As soon as politics was over Kieran called for Naomi to stay behind and Emily hovered. For a minute she wondered what was wrong that Kieran needed to talk to Naomi about until he reached over his desk and pulled the blonde girl into a one-armed hug.<p>

"You're her stepdad!" Emily blurted in realization and then blushed bright red when they both looked over at her. "I mean, hi."

"Kieran you know Emily, right? She's been looking after me today." Naomi asked. She took a few steps over and grabbed Emily's arm to bring her over to the desk. Emily allowed herself a brief moment of amazement at how well Naomi could orient herself in the world as long as she knew where things were.

"Taking care of our Naomi, eh little Red? 'Course I know her," Kieran leaned over his desk so he could shake hands with her, "she's in my class too, in case you didn't notice. What was it I called you yesterday? The wee gay lass!"

Every muscle in Emily's body tensed at the same time. Was it possible to be absolutely freezing and on fire all at once? She couldn't stop her eyes from cutting over to Naomi immediately. The other girl didn't show any outward sign of having reacted to Kieran's words at all, while all Emily wanted to do was crawl into a small hole and die. She wanted to ease Naomi into the knowledge that she was gay, not throw it in her face and hope for the best.

She didn't say another word as Kieran checked to make sure Naomi was doing well in her classes and stayed quiet as they made plans to meet at the side door of the school so he could drive her home. Emily's whole stomach was one giant knot. It felt like if she opened her mouth, even to breathe, she was just going to throw up. It obviously showed on her face as well because Kieran looked worried as they left to head to their last class of the day.

They stepped out into the hall and Emily's hand tucked itself automatically into the crook of Naomi's elbow before she could think about it. And Emily was bricking it.

Damn Naomi for being so unreadable. The glasses did nothing to give Emily any insight into what she was thinking. Was she uncomfortable? Was she comfortable? Was she happy? Was she disgusted?

"Emily."

She was so wrapped up in freaking out she didn't even hear Naomi call her name the first time until she said it again, louder.

"Emily!"

She almost leapt out of her skin. "Um, yes?"

Naomi's smile was strained and Emily's heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach. Where did those easy smiles that melted her into a warm puddle disappear to?

The blonde girl very carefully pried Emily's fingers off of her arm. "I'd like to keep the use of my hand for the time being," she said gently.

Emily blushed bright red as she realized she'd been gripping Naomi's arm so tightly she must have been cutting off circulation. "Oh! Sorry." She let go immediately but Naomi reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"I still need you to lead me around," Naomi said, and placed Emily's hand back on her arm.

_Dear ground, please swallow me whole immediately. _Emily kept the barest minimum amount of contact with Naomi's arm until the blonde girl sighed and stopped walking.

"What's up?" Emily asked, trying for casual.

"Is there an empty hallway to our right?" Naomi asked instead of answering.

Emily's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but then again they had been down this hall several times today and she _had _been describing their surroundings to Naomi in minute detail. "Yes."

"Good." Naomi switched their grip around so that she was holding on to Emily's arm instead and dragging the willing redhead over into the other hall. When they were tucked out of sight Naomi let go and put her hands on Emily's shoulders. "Emily, please stop," she said firmly.

Emily's was on fire where Naomi was touching her, even through the fabric of her hoodie. That was not normal. That was not a normal reaction. She casually gave herself more Stalker Points.

"Stop what?" she asked. Her voice had risen at least half an octave in nervousness. Did Naomi want her to stop leading her around? Oh God, she _was _freaked out by the gay thing. What if she hated Emily now? What if she never wanted to see anyone in their group ever again. What if –

Naomi ran her hands up and down Emily's shoulders very gently. "Stop freaking out," she said, her voice soft. "I can feel it in your muscles, Emily. You're an absolute wreck. You're shaking, for Christ's sake."

She was shaking, but it was out of relief more than anything else. If Naomi was comforting her then she couldn't possibly be that freaked out, and the next words out of her mouth confirmed that.

"Please stop being upset," she coaxed, still keeping up that distracting up and down motion across Emily's shoulders. "I don't care about the gay thing if that's what it is. If anything I apologize for my stepdad being a tactless wanker."

All the tension in Emily's muscles drained just as quickly as it had arrived. She found herself relaxing under the soothing warmth of Naomi's hands. "You don't?" she asked in a very small voice. It made her feel like a child looking for assurance that they hadn't done anything wrong.

Disappointingly Naomi stopped her soothing and dropped her hands back to her sides. "Promise," she said with a smile that Emily returned.

"All right," Emily let out a huge breath she didn't even know she'd been holding. "To English, then?"

Naomi's smile brightened until Emily's heart threatened to just up and keel over at the sight of it and she held out her arm. "Lead the way."

* * *

><p>The end of the day saw them both lounging on the steps at the side of the school, soaking up the rare sunshine while they waited for Kieran to come around and pick Naomi up.<p>

"So how was your second day?" Emily asked as the sounds of the school behind them started to dwindle.

Naomi leaned back on her elbows and turned her face towards the sky. "Rather less eventful then my first one," she answered, and Emily joined in when she chuckled. "But then again I managed not to knock anyone over today."

"Well done," Emily dryly.

"I do what I can," Naomi answered in the same tone.

Emily's heart did a wonderfully light dance inside of her chest. This was nice, sitting in the sun and talking to Naomi, being light and playful. She wouldn't mind doing this for a while. After a couple more minutes of teasing Naomi asked her to describe the group to her. There was such a wistful quality to the blonde's voice that Emily would have done anything she asked, but this was easy. She was just describing Katie when she was interrupted.

"Emily!"

She looked over to her right to see one of the boys from her history class running over at full kilter.

"Slow down, Marcus," she told him as he skidded to a stop in front of them. "I'm not going anywhere. What's the rush?"

He scratched the back of his head and blushed. "Sorry. Just didn't know if I'd missed you or not. Do you have the history notes from today? I forgot to take them and was wondering if I could copy yours?"

"It's hard to remember to take notes when you're asleep," she teased him gently and he blushed harder.

"Long night," he mumbled. "Promise to do whatever I can to pay you back."

Emily rolled her eyes good-naturedly and dug the notes out for him anyway. "Just give them back tomorrow," she said as she handed them to him. "No harm, no foul."

"Thanks, Emily," he smiled brightly at her, "you're a lifesaver. Tomorrow, I promise!" and then he was off again, probably to practice whatever sport had him sleeping through the second day of school. Judging by the shoes dangling off the back of his backpack she was going to guess rugby.

"Sorry," she apologized to Naomi immediately. The blonde was looking towards her with a strange smile tugging up the corners of those very kissable lips. "Where were we?"

"Let's see," Naomi held up her hands and ticked them off, "Elizabeth Stonem, likes to be called Effy. Brunette, tall, mysterious. Katie Fitch, loud in voice and in clothes. James Cook, likes to be called Cook, a male version of Katie with worse taste in clothes and a better taste in women."

Emily threw back her head and laughed loudly. "That's pretty accurate," she agreed.

"And you," Naomi said, "Emily Fitch. Quiet and smart and beautiful."

Emily, who had just been taking her sketchbook out of her bag, dropped the whole lot in surprise and almost toppled over the side of the steps with it. "What," she spluttered, trying to regain her bearings, "what – how do you even – what –"

"Marcus," Naomi said, waving her hand in the general direction that the boy had been standing in. "Did you know that when you talk to someone your tone of voice changes depending on how you view them?" Her smile grew. "Marcus thought you were very beautiful and you made him nervous."

"Oh," Emily felt a little ridiculous now.

"Besides," Naomi shrugged and went back to her previous position of arms back, face to the sky. "Someone like you, Emily? You're spending a lot of time helping someone you barely know. You've _got _to be beautiful."

Ah. And the blush was back.

"It's not a problem," she mumbled. She didn't even know if Naomi heard her. And besides, it wasn't completely altruistic anyway. Not when just being around Naomi made her feel higher than kite.

"It's still nice," Naomi said in a tone of voice that brooked no argument.

Emily just opened her book to a blank page and looked over at Naomi. How in the world was it possible for someone to be that effortlessly gorgeous and not even be aware of it? Katie always had magazine lying around and billboards were plastered all over Bristol. Beautiful people were everywhere, you saw them all dolled up with makeup and airbrushing and wrapped up in expensive clothes. And Naomi Campbell blew them all out of the water just leaning against some steps outside of school with her legs stretched out and the sleeves of her jumper rolled up to her elbows.

Almost without orders from her brain Emily's hand started to move, her pencil recreating the lines of Naomi's body on the paper in front of her. Gradually, on the formerly blank page, Naomi herself sprang to life under Emily's careful application of hand to paper. The shadows her glasses threw over her face, the way her right leg tilted slightly to the side, and line of her jaw as it connected to her neck.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Emily had to force her hand to remain steady and not ruin the drawing. "Sorry," she apologized quickly. "I'm not. I mean, well, I am. You can tell that?"

"Yes," Naomi's head was cocked to the side and Emily sighed a little bit because now the pose was completely abandoned.

"I'm – uh," she reached up and unconsciously scratched the back of her neck very similarly to what Marcus did earlier. "I'm not being a stalker or anything," she said. _Except you totally were. Here, have more Stalker Points. Have all the Stalker Points. _"I was drawing you."

"Oh." Was it also stalker-ish if Emily couldn't help but watch the way Naomi's lips moved when she formed that word? "Do you want me to move my head back the way it was?" Even as she was asking the question Naomi was already carefully moving back to the way she had been lying before.

Emily blinked in surprise. "You don't mind?" she asked. She hadn't actually meant to start drawing Naomi, it was just a reaction. She saw something beautiful and she wanted to capture it. She'd drawn her friends enough times that the whole group had become well used to sticking to one spot if they noticed Emily with her sketchbook in hand.

"As long as you're not drawing me with warts or anything," Naomi said half-seriously.

"Darn," Emily snapped her fingers. "There goes my first sketch."

Naomi snorted. "Very amusing," she said. "You know I can't tell if you're telling the truth or not?"

Emily felt a little chagrined. "Never," she said firmly. "I promise. Only Katie gets warts."

As if her name had summoned her, Katie burst out of the doors and her face lit up when she saw Emily. She shoved her way over and plopped down in that way that Katie had of inserting herself into a space. "We're having a party on Friday," she said immediately.

"Was that a question or were you just informing me?" Emily asked acerbically. Naomi smirked.

"I figured we'd do it on Friday so the house would be all right by the time Mum and Dad got home on Sunday. Invite whoever you want," Katie was already gathering her stuff up again. "What were you two chatting about out here?"

The way her twin was eyeing the two of them suspiciously made Emily wonder whether Katie was as oblivious to her having a crush on Naomi as she thought she was. Katie did tend to notice these things and Emily hadn't exactly been subtle about it.

"I just found out that Emily is an artist," Naomi offered. She frowned like she'd just thought of something and turned her head towards Emily again. "Are you very good?"

"I'm all right," Emily said with a shrug.

"She's brilliant!" Katie refuted, switch flipped immediately to "proud sister" mode. She looked down and noticed the drawing on the page for the first time, "I mean bloody hell, Ems. That looks like a photograph!"

Emily studied the picture in her hands with a critical eye. It did have a lot of detail for the short amount of time she'd been drawing. She'd wanted to capture everything about Naomi in it. But she could still see the flaws, the bits of the drawing she hadn't finished or places she thought she could have done better.

"Why brag when I have Katie to do it for me?" she said instead of addressing the claim to her talent.

Katie shook her head but she was used to Emily being obstinate about her drawings. "Whatever. You're brilliant, get used to it. And I guess you're invited Friday, Naomi," she said as a parting shot.

Emily shook her head in an uncanny mirror of her sister. "You're coming right?" she asked as she spotted Kieran pulling up out of the corner of her eye. "Also, Kieran is here."

Naomi looked surprised. "Coming where?" she asked.

"The party," Emily said in a very 'duh' voice. "If I'm going to have to have it at my house I might as well make sure people I actually enjoy having around are going to be there."

Was that the faintest hint of a blush that Emily detected on Naomi's face? The shadows from the sun and her glasses made it difficult to tell. After a minute she shrugged and said, "Sure." Kieran beeped and Naomi's head swung around towards the sound. She grinned at Emily, another one of those heart-stopping smiles. "Thanks again, Emily. Same time tomorrow?"

"Same Bat-time, same Bat-place," Emily agreed and was rewarded with a happy laugh.

She waited until Naomi was safely in Kieran's car before she gathered up her things and started to walk towards where her sister would be waiting for the bus that would take them home. About halfway there a thought hit her, and she stopped so suddenly the person behind her actually walked into her and cussed her out. She ignored them in favor of the earth-changing realization that had just hit her like a punch to the gut.

She wasn't just crushing on Naomi. She'd fallen; hard and damn quickly.

_Oh. This is going to be a problem._

* * *

><p><strong>An: Here you go you wonderful, gorgeous, amazing group of people. Now I just had to fly twice today (once through a thunderstorm) which is literally my most debilitating fear, and you know what would make me feel better? You guys telling me what you thought. Is the idea still good? Is it horrible? Did the chapter meet your expectations? What's your favorite part of the story so far? Tell tell tell! I'm all ears. **

**Forever your servant (that's a fancy way of saying CHEERS!) ~FS**


	4. Chapter Four: Naomi

**A/n: Oh, so all you lovely people are actually trying to kill me with reviews. I see how it is. If you wanted me to love you all to death you could've just asked. I'm a very easy person. Haha, all joking aside, though, I have never been more motivated to write a story in my life and it's all down to the love you guys are showering on me. Giving me a big head with lots of big ideas in it. **

**Also expect a shout-out to lizardwriter every chapter for being wonderful and forcing me to write and having lovely, lovely ideas and suggestions for this story. (I literally have a section in my notebook marked 'liz's notes on WTHS'.) Um, this would have been beta'd if I'd had any patience and waited for liz to wake up but I don't so it's un-beta'd and all mistakes are mine. **

**Holy hell, this chapter length just got out of control. **

**Disclaimer: I own nada. **

* * *

><p>The ceiling fan in her new room made a clicking noise every three rotations, and Naomi knew that because she'd been listening to it for the last twenty minutes. She was completely alone in her room apart from Bear, who was napping happily with his head against her stomach, and so she'd stripped down to battle the excessive heat of the day.<p>

Her mum had come in a little while ago and, upon seeing her daughter lying on her bed in nothing but her bra and knickers, had made a little sympathetic noise and asked "Bad day at school, then?" before retreating to give her some time alone.

The thing was that Naomi _hadn't _had a bad day at school. She hadn't had a bad day all week, actually, which was unusual because as much as she liked learning Naomi had always rather hated school itself. She'd been to a couple of new schools in her lifetime and beyond the one school she had gone to that was specifically catered to blind individuals (but was unfortunately too expensive for her to continue going to) she'd uniformly hated all of them. Her handicap made sure that she was isolated from the first day and her stand-offish personality did the rest. She was always subject to taunts, whispers, the occasional prank, pretty much everything you'd expect teenagers to do to someone who was so new and so irreparably different. There was nothing about Roundview that should be different from every other school she'd gone to in her life.

Except there was, and she had a name and a really amazing voice.

She knew for a fact that the relative ease with which she had been accepted into the social pool at Roundview had everything to do with Emily. Apparently once one of the group took you under their wing, so to speak, the whole group tended to take a shine to you as well. On the second day of school Cook had grabbed a boy that bumped into her and made him apologize. JJ, though he'd been in the same math class all of last year, abandoned his usual table partner to sit with her instead (he was sweet even if he was a little annoying), and Effy did the same in history without having to be asked.

Emily was the only component about Roundview that made it different from every other school. Because Naomi had never connected to another person in her life the way she had instantly connected to Emily Fitch. Honestly, she'd probably smiled more in the last week than she had in the last year. By the end of the first day they were comfortable around each other, by the end of the third day they had their own inside jokes, and by the end of the fifth day Naomi knew where Emily was going to be without having to reach out and check.

So you'd think that would mean she wouldn't be lying on her bed on Friday night debating whether or not she even wanted to go to the party.

It was weird, probably the weirdest thing she'd ever let cross her mind, but it almost felt like Emily was distancing herself a little bit. Because even as she and Emily had grown closer she'd also had the distinct feeling Emily was pulling away. Naomi had been isolated, whether self-imposed or not, for a little more than half her life and that meant that she could read people's actions like the back of her hand. She could only compare it to an elastic band being wrapped around them, the way they kept pulling and snapping back and circling each other. It was subtle. Emily still guided her around, still cracked jokes, they still met up during free period so Emily could help her with their English reading...

(And boy was _that _an experience. Naomi would be the first one to admit it: Emily's voice was remarkable. That little husk that she'd noticed in their first meeting was actually permanent and sometimes Naomi found herself asking Emily to repeat a line simply because she'd been listening to the sound and not the words that were being spoken.)

...but it wasn't the same. She couldn't explain it but something just _felt _different from that first day.

And what a first day it had been. Naomi didn't know why Emily had reacted the way she did to Kieran outing her but she still hadn't quite forgiven her stepfather for that. Nothing could erase the feeling of Emily shaking like a leaf underneath her hands. In that moment she'd felt the overwhelming need to soothe, to protect, to make sure she knew there was no reason for her to ever be scared of something as ridiculous as that.

Really, there wasn't. Naomi honestly didn't care whether Emily was gay or straight or attracted to blue polka-dotted aliens, the other girl was well on her way to being the best friend that Naomi had ever had. That's why she was absolutely determined not to let anything, not even some of the sneakier thoughts that had been cropping up in the back of her head or the way her stomach flipped when Emily laughed, to ruin that.

"Hi Mrs. Campbell, I'm Effy. Kieran let me in. I hope you don't mind?"

Naomi's head snapped up and around towards the doorway. She listened as her Mum and Effy made small talk in the hallway, her mind spinning the whole time. What was Effy doing here? How did Effy even know where she lived?

Eventually the voices outside her door disappeared. She heard her door open and close again. "Why are you in your underwear?"

Naomi bolted upright and narrowed her eyes at the doorway she imagined Effy to be hovering in. Bear whined when his living pillow moved and shifted his position. "Why are you in my house?"

"Whoa," Effy let out a low whistle as she moved closer. "Hello Naomi's eyes. Welcome to the party."

"Effy!" Naomi swung her legs up and around and sat up in bed, suddenly self-conscious on a number of levels. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out any other comments because it's not like it mattered if they were open or not anyway. She knew she was blonde and had light skin. She knew she had blue eyes. Beyond that, to Naomi, the only thing remarkable about her eyes was that they didn't work.

"Stop freaking out," Effy commanded, and there was the sound of her putting bags down on Naomi's bed. There were rustling noises as Effy rummaged around in them and then Naomi felt clothes being held up against her body. "Speaking of parties, what size are you? Small?"

"Medium," Naomi corrected automatically. "Effy, what are you doing?"

"Making sure my friends are happy," Effy answered. She shoved an outfit into Naomi's arms. "Go put that on."

"I'm not even going to the party," Naomi said grumpily, even though she hadn't decided that yet.

She could only tell that Effy must have rolled her eyes because of the noise the other girl made underneath her breath. "Yes, you are," she said. "Put the damn clothes on before I do it for you."

Naomi hesitated. It's not that she didn't like Effy it was just…well, she'd had bad experiences with people pulling stuff over on her in the past. The next words out of Effy's mouth cemented her as a legitimate psychic in Naomi's mind.

"It's a light grey long-sleeved jumper with fake rips at the elbows and a pair of dark blue jeans," she said quietly. "You do –"

"I know colors, Effy," Naomi said. She waved a hand towards her face. "Maybe I'll even tell you the story some time."

Effy actually chuckled as she pushed Naomi towards the bathroom. "Go put them on then. Where is your jewelry?"

"Box in the back left hand corner of my dresser. Effy, why are you –"

"I already told you that I like when my friends are happy, Naomi," Effy interrupted her again. "Don't make me repeat myself and just put the damn clothes on. Trust me, Emily will think they're hot."

Naomi was halfway through putting her legs into the jeans, and she fell over in surprise and knocked the air out of her lungs.

"Are you all right?" Effy shouted, but she didn't sound particularly concerned about the answer. "Sounded like you fell pretty hard there."

Naomi couldn't help feeling like there was a hidden meaning behind everything Effy said. "Fine," she coughed. "Why would you think that –"

"Save it," Effy cut her off. _Would the girl never let her finish a sentence tonight?_ "You're going to deny it and that's fine, whatever helps you sleep better at night, but I told Katie we'd be there in a half hour and we're going to be late if I have to take the time to soothe your ruffled feathers."

Naomi scowled and pulled her jeans the rest of the way up rather aggressively. _I do not have ruffled feathers, _she grumbled in her mind. _I don't have feathers at all. And if I did they wouldn't be ruffled. Stupid psychic Effy Stonem thinks she knows fucking everything. _

She stomped her way out of the bathroom and crossed her arms over her chest. "Happy now?" she demanded.

"Ecstatic," Effy deadpanned. She stepped into Naomi's space and Naomi jerked back as she felt Effy's hands touch her hair. "Oh stop," Effy made an annoyed sound, pulled her back by her jumper, and started to fix her hair again.

Naomi stayed rigidly still as Effy's hands and a brush worked through her hair. Her mouth was set into a thin line. The air in the room shifted from mostly playful to something more serious, and Effy must have felt it too because she moved her hands around Naomi's hair with practiced care. Naomi unlocked her jaw and spoke up when Effy stepped back to survey her work.

"Please don't do that," she requested, her voice soft and halfway between plaintive and scared. "I don't like it." Dogs as a species were very sensitive to the moods of their owners and Bear, who up until that point had stayed napping on the bed, started to growl low in his throat. Naomi shushed him and he quieted down immediately.

There was a line that she'd just crossed and Effy knew it. Effy was quiet for a really long moment, before she said "I'm sorry," in a way that sounded like she sincerely meant it. "I'm going to use some mousse to fix your hair, okay?"

To Effy's everlasting credit she waited until Naomi nodded before she lifted her hands up and started messing with Naomi's hair again. It felt like a significant moment in their friendship just happened, but Naomi was too spun about by Effy's drill sergeant routine to really grasp it.

"Sorry," she said when Effy was finished with her hair. "I just don't get a lot of people touching me. My mum and Kieran, mostly," she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Especially since I can't see it coming."

"You let Emily touch you," Effy pointed out, not unkindly.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Naomi twisted the ring on her thumb around and around. "I don't know," she answered honestly.

She heard Effy's shrug. "All right, then. Trainers?"

"By the bookcase."

When her shoes and jacket were on (and her cane was taken out of her hands and placed firmly to the side with the comment that she wasn't going to need it) Effy waited for Naomi to hold out her arm before she grabbed her elbow to guide her onwards. And that felt significant too.

* * *

><p>It turned out that Emily didn't live very far away at all, maybe a ten minute walk, and Naomi was grateful for the long sleeves on her jumper when they stepped outside and she discovered the temperature had dropped once the sun went down. She and Effy didn't really talk much on the way over, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Neither of them felt the need to fill it, and though she'd never met anyone quite like Effy, Naomi found didn't mind the silence that much at all. It was peaceful.<p>

Until it wasn't anymore. Naomi smiled to herself as she felt the vibrations in the ground underneath her feet. "That Katie's doing?" she asked, dragging one foot along the ground for emphasis.

Effy cocked her head to the side and listened for a moment before she chuckled under her breath. "Probably," she said. "That's cool, you know. How you do that."

Naomi shrugged. She was used to people thinking it was cool when she noticed things beyond the norm. People always referred to her as having lost one of her five senses, but that was bollocks on two counts. One: she hadn't lost anything, because losing something indicates you can get it back. She wasn't going to find her eyesight behind the couch with Kieran's keys. And two: humans had way more than five senses. She knew how people were moving around, because when you close your eyes don't you just get the _feeling _that someone has turned their head or raised their arm into the air? She could move around and orient herself in the world, because unless you're insanely drunk can't you raise your finger to the tip of your nose without having to see it? But you weren't taught about either of those senses in primary school.

She hadn't _lost _anything and she wasn't _missing _anything, she just moved about in the world a different way than everyone else.

Effy nudged her gently in the side. "Are you going to stay in your head all night or are you going to come back down to Earth any time soon?" she asked.

"I wasn't aware that staying in my head was an option."

"It's not."

The street underneath them changed from gravel to smooth pavement, and then they were up the Fitch's walkway and standing in front of their door. Effy let go of her arm to ring the doorbell, but had only barely pressed down on it before the door swung open and Naomi was assaulted with the full-on sound and heat of the party going on inside.

Beside her she heard Effy scoff. "Did she invite the whole school?" she asked, and Naomi laughed.

"Hey!"

A smile exploded onto Naomi's face without permission from her brain. Out of all the voices she'd heard in her life, Emily's was by far her favorite. It wasn't even the aesthetics of it (although, seriously?) or the way it sounded with her Bristol accent (so different from the accents she'd been surrounded by for years). It was the refreshingly open quality of it. Emily's voice told you everything she was feeling and never tried to hide it or shy away. In the week that they'd spent practically glued at the hip Naomi had heard Emily in almost every range of emotion. She knew when she was sad, or tired, or happy. She knew when Emily was smiling and she knew when she was frowning.

It was nice, always knowing what someone was feeling. Katie had that quality to her voice too so maybe it was a Fitch thing. Naomi never got to judge anyone's emotions based on their face so if they could control their voice (like Effy did) most of the time Naomi was, no pun intended, flying blind. She had to guess.

But she never had to guess with Emily.

Like right at that moment she could _hear_ Emily's delight at seeing her stand in the doorway, and it was hearing that smile in her voice that made Naomi return it automatically.

"You made it!"

"I stopped and grabbed a present for you," Effy said.

Emily laughed. "And what a nice present," she said. Her voice sounded happy and loose in a way Naomi had never heard it before, and she wondered how much Emily had had to drink already. "Come on in."

Naomi could just imagine that Effy was smirking when she let Emily grab her hand and drag her into the house.

* * *

><p>Less than a half hour later and Naomi was a drink and a half into the night and feeling kind of good about it. Emily and Cook had laughed at the look on her face when she'd taken her first sip of alcohol, but it wasn't mean laughter. Naomi even found herself laughing along and enjoying the warm feeling in her chest that being surrounded by friends seemed to inspire.<p>

Katie had wandered into the kitchen, clocked Naomi, Effy, Emily, and Cook all laughing hysterically, and huffed. She'd thrown some sort of quip about Naomi finding her way to the party into the conversation and walked out again. Naomi wasn't quite sure what Katie's problem with her was. She hadn't done anything to her. Besides that one time she'd almost given her a concussion. And also stealing her sister away for a significant amount of time the last week, she supposed.

The music in the other room managed to turn up even louder (impressive considering it'd been close to mind-numbing before) and she heard Emily jump down from the counter.

"We pushed all the furniture out of the way in the living room," she said excitedly. "Let's dance!"

Naomi stood rooted to the spot as the rest of them jumped down and filed out. Somehow her brain hadn't connected partying to dancing and being around people. Her heart started to beat a little harder against her ribs. She wasn't really good around crowds of people, not without some kind of barrier between her and them. Usually a cane or dog would do it but she had neither of those, and had to rely solely on other people. It was an uncomfortable feeling that she wasn't used to at all.

And then Effy was there again, putting a hand on her knee and pushing away a bit of the panic.

"You're coming with me," Effy said firmly. She grabbed Naomi's hand and started leading her out of the room. "You're going to have fun at this party if it kills you."

Naomi had the wild thought that tonight might kill her anyway.

* * *

><p>The whole living room dance floor experience was scaring the shit out of Naomi, there was no other way to put it. It was too many people in too little of a space, and everyone was moving and touching. Not even Effy's hand guiding her was doing anything to relieve the tension she could feel in her whole body, and when Effy let go she started to panic all over again. Someone was way too close behind her, but before she had the chance to worry about people being all around her Cook's voice cut over the noise of the music.<p>

"Don't worry your pretty head, Naomikins," he shouted. "Me and Eff got your back." And then he laughed uproariously at his own joke.

Ah, so it was just Cook and Effy dancing behind her. Naomi just shook her head at him and was about to tell him off when she felt Effy move closer and speak directly into her ear.

"I'm going to touch you now," she warned, and before Naomi could tell her it probably wasn't necessary to warn her every time, she felt two hands touch the small of her back, and Effy gave her a shove.

She tripped forward directly into a warm body and strong arms wrapped around her immediately to keep her standing. Naomi started to push herself back and relaxed when the person who caught her shouted at Effy in a very familiar voice.

Naomi knew Emily was shouting but she couldn't hear the words, because her senses were filled with her. It must have been the alcohol playing with her mind when all she could focus on was Emily's arms holding her up and the warmth that spread from every place that their skin touched.

And apparently her physical responses were all wonky too because she couldn't stop her breath from catching when Emily squeezed her tighter and asked, "You okay?" right in her ear.

Naomi smiled weakly. "Fine," she choked out. "Just a little," she stopped that sentence before it could continue with 'hot' and said instead, "embarrassed. Haven't ever gotten pissed before."

Thankfully Emily was laughing. "It's all right," she said, and even put her hands on Naomi's shoulders and pulled her further in, until their knees and hips were touching. "I'm pretty sure that was Effy's fault. And you should probably stick closer to me on the dance floor anyway."

She felt much better being with Emily on the dance floor and, very slowly, she found herself feeling comfortable in the crowd. Emily's body close to hers and Emily's arms around her neck made her feel safe dancing around all of these strangers, and it was surprisingly easy to relax and match the movements of Emily's body to the music. Emily herself helped by keeping up a running commentary in her ear, sometimes of something funny that was happening, sometimes singing along to whatever song, but always the constant assurance that she was there.

Naomi didn't even notice the commotion happening nearby until she heard someone say "Can I cut in?" and Emily was pulled away from her.

She was back before Naomi had time to react and guided her over to the corner of the room. "Stick with JJ for a second?" she requested, and she sounded so genuinely concerned about her that Naomi couldn't even find it in herself to be annoyed that Emily thought she needed looking after.

"What's going on?" she asked JJ.

The boy sighed. "Just someone making a nuisance of themselves at the party," he said. "Emily is taking care of it."

Naomi bit her lip. She knew firsthand how pocket-sized Emily was now that they'd danced and the thought of her dealing with anyone making trouble filled her with anxiety.

"I wouldn't worry about it," JJ added, and Naomi wondered when she got so easy to read. "Emily is quite adept at dealing with problems."

Naomi wasn't quite sure if she believed in his confidence, but she forced herself to relax and gulp down some of the drink JJ handed to her. She was more prepared for the burn of the alcohol now and actually sort of liked it. Emily had been taking care of herself for seventeen years, she decided as the buzz from the drink rushed to her head, and if JJ wasn't worried then she wouldn't be either.

* * *

><p>She was laughing hysterically at a story JJ and Panda were taking turns telling about one of Cook's very unfortunate tattoos when she heard it: Emily's voice. She'd been right that first time they'd met and she'd guessed that Emily's voice would be easy to pick out of a crowd, because she could hear it now above the sounds of the party. It was close by, maybe in the next room over, and it was raised in anger.<p>

It was easy to pretend she already knew where the loo was in order to escape from JJ and Panda, and when she figured she was in the clear she reached out a hand and touched the wall on her right. Keeping her hand running along the wall, and always a little ahead of her body, she let it lead her carefully down the hallway towards the voice.

Her head was a little fuzzy from the alcohol and all she wanted to know was why Emily was upset, because it was sort of making her upset by proxy. She just wanted Emily to come back and dance with her again. She got to the part of the hall where Emily's voice was the loudest and, even though every instinct she had screamed not to, she stopped to listen.

"You had no right!" Emily was yelling when she reached the door.

"I see you all wrapped around that blonde girl and you expect me not to react?" Whoever else was in the room with Emily it was another girl and she was mad.

"Yes!" Emily shouted. It was the angriest Naomi had ever heard her. "Number one, because Naomi is my friend and she needed me there to keep her company. And number two, because we are not together. We were never together. I don't know how many times I can say that to you, Mandy."

"Emily," the other girl's voice turned from cutting to pleading in a heartbeat, "we had something, please don't pretend like we didn't. You care about me, I know you do."

"You ruined my life," Emily snapped.

"I thought we'd gotten past this," Mandy snapped back, immediately reverting to anger.

"That's not generally something you work past."

Whoever this Mandy girl was, she was confusing as fuck. Naomi frowned as she listened to her talk. It was like she couldn't decide whether she wanted to be mad at Emily or fuck her senseless, and her voice reflected that. The constant fluctuations between anger and lust made Naomi want to pull Emily away and protect her from this girl. It was an uncomfortable situation all around, and as Naomi listened to Emily getting more and more upset she got angry with herself for not doing anything to help. She was about to, but someone else got there first.

"Hey, bitch! I don't remember inviting you to the party."

_Thank god for Katie fucking Fitch. _

Unlike Naomi, Katie had absolutely no qualms about throwing open the door to whatever room they were in and storming her way into the argument, and Naomi almost felt like kissing her for that.

"Free world, Katie," Mandy growled. "You invited the whole school."

"Yeah, but I figured you wouldn't be stupid enough to show up," Katie sniped. "Or, like, maybe if I didn't invite you in then you couldn't get through the door. Like a vampire or something."

Naomi snorted and everyone's head whipped around to stare at her. She knew it happened because she knew what it felt like to be stared at and she hated that feeling.

"Naomi!" Emily said, and was it horrible that Naomi felt a bit of vindictive one-upmanship against Mandy at the obvious amount of affection in Emily's voice?

Then she remembered she'd just been caught redhanded eavesdropping on an obviously private conversation and she flushed with embarrassment.

"Sorry," she said. "I got worried and –"

"Just a friend?" Mandy interrupted, and then she laughed harshly. "If that's how you look at all of your friends then maybe you are just a slut."

"Hey!" Naomi and Katie shouted in unison.

"Don't you ever say that about Emily," Naomi yelled at the same time that Katie shouted, "Get the fuck out of my house right now before I make you, bitch."

"Whatever," Mandy scoffed. She knocked into Naomi's shoulder as she passed by her to get out the door. "Watch out for this one," she said to Naomi as a parting shot. "All she cares about is getting a good fuck and then she's gone."

"I said get the _fuck _out," Katie hissed, but Mandy was already halfway down the hall and out the door. A smart move, considering what Naomi knew about the temperament of Katie Fitch.

"I'm going to make sure she left," Katie said in the quiet that followed Mandy's departure. She touched Naomi lightly on the shoulder as she left, in the same spot that Mandy had hit, and said "Thanks Campbell." It sounded pretty sincere and not even a little bit forced.

Naomi wasn't quite sure what she was being thanked for, but she nodded anyway and that seemed to satisfy Katie because she left in the same direction Mandy had gone in.

"Emily?" Naomi asked. She held out her arms to the side and waved them around a little bit. "I'm trying to comfort you here but you're going to have to help me out a little bit."

Emily giggled, but it sounded far too watery for Naomi's liking. If that girl had made Emily cry then Naomi was going to go find out if all of those lessons Kieran had taught her about throwing a punch paid off.

"You want to go somewhere?" Naomi asked.

Emily sniffled. "Where?"

"Anywhere."

* * *

><p>"Favorite Beatles song?"<p>

She passed the bottle of vodka back to Emily, who gulped some down and coughed when she was done. They were outside in Emily's back garden and though it was definitely cold neither of them complained. The sounds of the party were muffled by the closed windows and door and she could almost pretend that they were much farther away from it than they were.

The two of them were lying on the grass. They'd already downed more than half a bottle of vodka between them and to Naomi it was a wonderful feeling; everything was warm and funny and lovely. She turned her head towards Emily and relished the coolness of the grass against her cheek. It did a lot to soothe her hot face.

"Who says I like the Beatles?" Emily asked as she passed the bottle back.

Naomi scoffed. "Everyone likes the Beatles," she said and took a drink. She barely even noticed the burn anymore. She wondered vaguely if she was used to it now or if she was just exponentially more drunk than when she'd started.

"Fine. 'I've Just Seen A Face'," Emily answered.

"Why?"

"I don't know," Emily broke out into a fit of giggles. "'Cause it was the first one I thought of?"

They were quiet together for a little while after Emily's giggles had died down. Naomi turned her face towards the sky and bit her lip. She felt Emily flip from her stomach onto her back and do the same and a rush of melancholy went through her. Even now Emily was tracing the stars in the night sky, stars that even without the barrier of her glasses Naomi wouldn't be able to see.

"So," she broke the silence, "Mandy your ex-girlfriend, then?" She asked because she wanted to know, because the curiosity burned inside her worse than the alcohol, because she couldn't _not _ask.

"She's my ex-_something_," Emily said with a bitter little laugh.

"Oh, that needs an explanation," Naomi handed the bottle back to her.

Emily was quiet for so long that Naomi thought maybe she'd overstepped some kind of line. "It was last year," she said finally. "I'd just finally come to terms with being gay. I mean, I knew before that. But I was just starting to embrace it. Katie had finally started to mellow out –"

"This is Katie mellow?" Naomi couldn't help but ask incredulously.

Emily elbowed her in the ribs. "Believe it or not she used to be a lot worse. I'd been so overshadowed by her my whole life and she didn't mean to but she _did_. So being gay it was like, sort of like breaking away from her, you know? I had a shiny new toy and I damn well wanted to play with it. I went a little," she sighed, "off the rails, I guess."

Naomi felt Emily shiver and she looked over in alarm. "You don't have to tell if you don't want to," she said earnestly.

This time Emily's laugh was made of lighter stuff. "I'm all right," she said. "It's just cold outside and I'm in shorts and a button-up."

Naomi automatically lifted her right arm up and beckoned a little with her hand. After a moment of hesitation Emily scooted over and cuddled into her side as Naomi wrapped her arm around Emily's shoulders.

"Better?" she asked.

"Much. Now where was I?"

"Off the rails," Naomi reminded her.

Emily nodded against her shoulder. "Right. I started going out to a clubs a lot more than usual, sometimes every night a week. I danced and I got pissed, I did drugs, and I found there was a whole community of pretty girls who wanted to shag me."

"Just you, personally?" Naomi teased.

Emily poked her. "You know what I mean," she warned. "And Cook, well he's a good guy but he didn't exactly help. I wouldn't say I turned into a Cook clone, but I did become a very 'fuck 'em and leave 'em' type of girl. I…wasn't a very nice person."

Naomi could literally not imagine that.

"I thought I was being rebellious," Emily said sadly, "but I was actually just being a twat and hurting people. Mandy was one of those people. She was under the impression that we had a lot more going on between us than we actually did and I, well," she sighed again. "I suppose I could have been gentler when I told her we weren't."

Naomi couldn't stop herself from reaching across herself with her free arm and grabbing Emily's hand. "You're a good person, Ems," she said.

After a brief moment Emily turned her hand palm-up, laced their fingers together, and squeezed tightly. "Thanks," she whispered.

"So what happened?" Naomi prompted.

"She didn't exactly take it well," Emily said. "The whole time that this was going on my parents had no idea. To them, Katie and I were still the same two girls we'd been in primary school. We thought Dad was going to lose the gym for a bit and Mum's wedding business had just started to take off the ground, so they weren't exactly the most observant people."

Emily paused for a minute and Naomi could hear her tapping the fingers of her free hand against the vodka bottle. "One night during family dinner Mandy showed up at the door," she continued before the silence became too long. "She asked to see me; she kissed me and then slapped me in front of my whole family."

There were so many things wrong with that sentence, but the mere fact that that girl had raised a hand to Emily made Naomi want to find her and rip her limb from limb.

"So that's how I was outed to my parents," Emily said dryly. "Katie punched her in the face and threw her out, sort of like what she did tonight, but the damage was already done. Actually, the damage it caused was astounding. My Mum is homophobic and I thought, 'maybe after I leave for Uni she'll be better about it'. I had this whole coming out scenario plotted out in my head and Mandy walked in and ruined that. We still haven't really recovered."

Naomi tightened her grip on Emily's shoulders and the vodka sloshing about in her stomach made her bold enough to kiss the side of Emily's head.

"But your mum is better about it now?" she asked.

Emily snorted a little. "She kisses me on the cheek in the morning and asks if anything happened at school during dinner," she said, "which I view as progress."

The silence fell between them again. The songs thumping through the walls changed twice before Naomi got up to nerve to speak her next sentence. She was literally about to tell Emily something she'd never felt the need to tell anyone in her whole life, but Emily had opened up to her and it was only right she do the same. She held out her hand for the vodka and gulped down some liquid courage, coughing a bit when it almost went down the wrong way.

Naomi took a deep breath and said, "I was in a car accident."

The hand wrapped around hers tightened and Emily started to speak, probably to tell Naomi she didn't have to say anything, but Naomi cut her off.

"No, you told yours," she said more bravely than she felt. "Let me tell mine."

She felt Emily nod against her shoulder. "Okay," she said quietly.

"I was in a car accident," Naomi repeated, testing out the words and the way they tasted on her tongue. She'd never actually imagined what it would be like when she told someone this story. She'd never imagined it would be like this, with this girl, under stars that she couldn't see. "My father was driving. My biological father, not Kieran. He'd let me sit up front as a treat and he was teasing me, I think, because I was reading a book in the car. I can't even remember what anymore. One of the Harry Potter books, maybe."

Naomi took a deep breath and scrunched her eyes shut and hated the futility in the action.

"He grabbed it from me and threw it in the back, because he thought he was being funny. I took off my seatbelt and started climbing into the back to get it. I remember him being very angry and yelling at me to sit back down. But I didn't because he was paying attention to me and I liked it. He was paying too much attention to me. He didn't see a kid run into the road until it was almost too late to stop."

Emily's arm slipped around her waist and squeezed. Naomi's conversation with Effy in her room at the beginning of the night came flooding back when she didn't jump away from the touch but turned into it instead. She liked the feeling that Emily was trying to protect her from the world, even though her pain was coming from her own memories right now.

Naomi almost thought she could feel the comfort pouring off of Emily in waves. It transferred through their palms and up Naomi's veins into her heart, where it lodged there forever. A little piece of Emily-comfort.

"He slammed on the brakes and I flew backward. Hit the back of my head on the console." Naomi sucked in a deep breath. "I didn't wake up for two days. Mum says," she coughed when the words caught in her throat and tried to start that sentence again. "Mum says that the doctors told them they weren't sure if I would, or what state I would be in when I did."

Naomi swallowed against the thickness in her throat, and repeated the action again. "They called me a miracle when I woke up, and then again later when I regained almost full functionality back. They called me lucky." She snorted and let go of Emily's hand for a second to rub her temple where her glasses were pressing against her head. "Like this is lucky. I was fine, the entire rest of me was fine, except for the spot I had hit. The blow to the head damaged my occipital lobe."

She grabbed Emily's hand again and brought it up to the back of her neck. "That's the part at the back of your skull that's responsible for visual processing. There was no way to go in and fix it and it was too damaged to self-repair. For a few days after I woke up I had minimal vision and then it just, you know, went away entirely. So it's not my eyes that are damaged, it's my brain. I guess you could say I'm a bit fucked up in the head."

Emily's head was a comforting weight against her shoulder. "How old were you?" she asked quietly.

"Seven," Naomi answered, and because at this point she saw no reason not to, "my dad left two weeks after I got home from the hospital. Couldn't handle the guilt."

"His loss," Emily said. "He's the one missing out on a great person."

Naomi frowned. "You've known me a week," she countered. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Haven't you ever felt something in your gut, Naomi?" Emily asked almost wistfully. "Haven't you just ever _known_ something without quite being sure how?"

Yes, she was feeling something now, in fact. The moment dropped heavily between them, and Naomi honestly had no idea what would have happened next if the door to the house hadn't burst open.

"There you two are!" she heard Katie shout, her words slurring heavily. "Stop being weirdos and get the fuck back inside before I drag you!"

Emily laughed and stood up. She used the hand that was linked with Naomi's and easily pulled the blonde girl to her feet.

"You heard the Queen," she said as Naomi felt her use her free hand to brush bits of grass and dirt off of Naomi's jumper. "We shouldn't keep Her Majesty waiting."

* * *

><p>They were dancing again. And Emily was too close, her body pressed too tightly against Naomi's, her face buried in Naomi's shoulder, and she couldn't function like that. The beat was too heavy, the music too loud, the air too hot. Everything was overwhelming. She was too overwhelmed. And Emily, who noticed everything, was a little too drunk to notice that. Naomi was a little too drunk, too. Definitely far more than she planned on being when the night started.<p>

She pulled away and excused herself, using her wall trick get into the kitchen again. There were far less people in the kitchen, and all of them were too gone to be concerned with the blind girl leaning against the counter gulping in deep breaths of air.

The door swung open again, the person walking in was light on their feet and carried the faint scent of cigarette smoke and perfume, and Naomi turned her head towards the sound.

"Effy," she said weakly. She didn't like feeling this out of control. It made her feel helpless and she wanted _out_. Effy had been the one to get her here, it felt like Effy could be the one to lead her to safety.

Effy grabbed her arm and tugged her over. "You have to relax," she ordered, and her grip on Naomi's arm was tight but not painful. "Emily would cut off her own arm before she let something happen to you. She's not worried, so trust her and calm down, okay?"

Once again Naomi had the feeling that Effy meant so much more than what she was actually saying.

_You can trust her_, whispered the little voice in the back of her mind that had been freed by the alcohol and the stress. She wasn't sure if it meant Effy or Emily or both. _She won't push you for anything or ask too much. She's your friend. She's a good friend. Emily is a good person. _

For some reason she latched on to the last bit. It was something she was absolutely certain about; the unparalleled and unwavering goodness in the heart of Emily Fitch.

The door opened again and Emily was there, and now that they were away from the crowd and her head was clear, the touch of Emily's hand on her arm felt safe again.

"Is she all right?" Emily asked sharply, directing her question towards Effy.

"Just tired," Effy reassured her, and as soon as she said the words Naomi realized they were true. She _was _tired; she felt the fatigue down to her bones.

"Okay. Come on, you," Emily grabbed her hand and started to lead her through the party again. Naomi tensed up immediately, but Emily took them left instead of through the crowd of people. After that Naomi didn't concentrate on _how _they were leaving, just that they were. She breathed in evenly through her nose to steady her lungs and kept a death grip on Emily's hand. If Emily let go she'd lose herself again, and that was terrifying. Luckily Emily didn't seem inclined to let go any time soon. If anything, her grip on Naomi's hand was tighter.

They walked up a flight of stairs and down another hallway all the way to the end. Naomi heard keys clinking together and then the door in front of them swung open and Emily was leading her into another room.

"We lock all the doors upstairs during parties," Emily explained as she sat Naomi down on a bed. "This is mine and Katie's room."

"Okay," Naomi nodded and her head spun with the motion. "Why are we up here?"

"Because you're in no state to walk home and I'm in no state to drive you," Emily said firmly. "You'll stay here tonight."

The thought of staying the night at Emily's house, of spending the night tucked up in her bed, was an oddly comforting one for her alcohol-addled mind. She allowed Emily to take off her shoes. Her jewelry went next, and Emily helped her peel off her jumper as well. She retained just enough mental capacity to be thankful she wore a tank top underneath it.

She threw herself back and groaned at the heavenly feel of a pillow beneath her head. She shut her eyes and willed sleep to come.

"Glasses," Emily's voice startled her a little.

"What?"

"Glasses off," Emily repeated and she poked the side of Naomi's head. "You'll hurt your eyes. And don't you dare make a snarky comment about already being blind, Naomi Campbell."

If she was more sober it would have freaked her out how well Emily could read her. Instead she kept her eyes scrunched closed and held her glasses up for Emily to take. Weirdly, she thought she heard Emily make a quiet noise of disappointment, but it was mostly drowned out by the sounds of the party drifting up through the floor.

"I have to make sure my house isn't wrecked," Emily said as she brought the covers up to Naomi's chin. She leaned down very swiftly and Naomi felt her press a kiss to the top of her head. "I'll lock the door behind me though." And then she was gone, and Naomi was asleep almost as soon as she heard the lock click dutifully into place.

* * *

><p>Naomi woke up a little bit later when Katie stumbled in and nearly tripped. She heard the louder twin cursing about someone being on the floor and then the rustle of fabric as she got into her own bed, and within minutes she heard Katie start to snore quietly. The rest of the house was silent, so the party must have shut down. Naomi turned her face into Emily's pillow and wrapped herself up more tightly in the blanket. And then it connected in her mind that if <em>she <em>was in Emily's bed than that meant that Emily _wasn't_.

She stuck her arm out over the side of the bed and swept it down until her hand made contact with warm flesh. Her head followed suit as she directed her whisper down towards the floor.

"Ems?"

Emily made a little humming sound in the back of her throat and Naomi felt a swooping sensation low in her stomach, but the other girl didn't wake up. Naomi tried again.

"_Emily!" _she whispered louder.

"Mmm," Emily wrapped her hand around Naomi's arm. "Why's your hand on m'leg?"

Naomi's face burned as she realized that Emily must be wearing shorts to sleep in (or maybe even just her knickers) if her hand had managed to inadvertently land on her thigh. "Why are you on the floor?" she asked.

"You're in t'bed," Emily mumbled sleepily and shuffled a little closer to the bed. Naomi bit the inside of her cheek and decided that sleepy Emily was the best thing ever. But she was still more than halfway drunk and all that she could think about was that it was probably awfully cold for Emily to be sleeping on the floor of her own bedroom.

She wiggled her hand away from Emily's and tugged on the sleeve of her shirt instead. "Don't sleep on the floor," she insisted. "Come up here."

"I'm okay," Emily rested her cheek against the back of Naomi's hand. "Go back t'sleep Naoms."

"No," Naomi said as firmly as she could with her head still spinning. "Come up here now."

Emily groaned sleepily but got to her feet and shuffled over. Naomi held open the blankets so that Emily could slide into the warm space that Naomi's body had created underneath them and Emily made a happy noise as she snuggled into the mattress.

"Better," Naomi said. She put her head next to Emily's on the pillow and smiled. "Night Ems."

"G'night Naoms."

* * *

><p>It was the ringing of her phone that finally woke her up in the morning. Normally she would just reach into her pocket and answer it, but Naomi found herself in the predicament of being completely wrapped up in Emily Fitch.<p>

She vaguely remembered waking up a little bit in the middle of the night and apparently deciding that Emily giving up her bed for the night was preposterous. She wasn't quite sure how that led to this, though, wasn't quite sure how that led to being tangled up together. Emily was tucked underneath her chin, both arms wrapped around her back, and one of Naomi's legs was pushed between Emily's. She was trapped with a small redhead in her arms and it made it rather difficult to reach a ringing phone.

The ringing played out and then started up again almost immediately. Naomi wiggled one of her arms free and dug into her pocket to grab her phone. She knew it was her mother from the ringtone before she even answered the phone with a sleepy, "Hi Mum."

"Where are you?" No hello or good morning, just straight to yelling. Naomi winced as the sound got to her head.

"I'm at Emily's," she mumbled. She felt Emily start to move around and wake up in her arms and immediately felt guilty for disturbing her.

"Next time you decide to stay over Emily's you call me first!" her mother yelled, and now Naomi could hear the stress and fear underneath the anger. More guilt, this time for worrying her mother.

"Sorry," she said. She tuned out a little bit as her mother started to rant about staying out overnight and going to parties and a million other things. Her mother hadn't always been like this, but ever since the accident she'd started to worry about Naomi incessantly and no matter how many years went by it didn't seem to dull the worry at all.

Emily must have woken up fully because she made a muffled little noise of distress and moved backwards out of Naomi's arms. She went so far back she almost fell off the bed, but Naomi felt the shift in the mattress and reached out a hand to grab her shirt and keep her upright.

"Are you all right?" she turned worried eyes over to Emily.

"You're not even listening to me, are you?" her mother's tiny voice demanded through the speaker.

"Sorry Mum," Naomi apologized immediately. "Emily almost fell off the bed."

"You're in a bed with Emily?"

"It's difficult to explain," Naomi sighed. "I'll be home soon, okay?"

Her mum sighed too, in such an exact imitation of Naomi herself that she almost laughed. "Okay. Do you need a ride?"

"No," and she hung up before her mother could say anything else, because Emily had been eerily quiet for quite some time now and it was beginning to make Naomi nervous.

"Emily?" she said tentatively. "Are you all right?"

It wasn't right to assume that just because Emily was gay she would be okay with waking up cuddled with a girl. Although she hoped that because it was her, and they were friends, Emily at least wouldn't freak out about it. Apparently she was wrong.

"I should go," she started to say, and was interrupted by Emily herself.

"Your eyes," Emily squeaked.

Naomi frowned and brought a hand up to touch the side of her right eye. She couldn't think of what could possibly be wrong with them, besides the obvious. Except…

Her stomach dropped. Maybe it was finally hitting Emily that Naomi was actually blind. It usually happened when she looked at people without her glasses for the first time and they realized that although she was looking right at them, she wasn't _seeing _them.

"They're _gorgeous_," Emily breathed.

Naomi's heart stuttered. She wasn't sure exactly what to do with that information and she wasn't sure how exactly it was different from Effy admiring them just last night, but it was. They were interrupted by Katie once again, when the other Fitch girl took this to be the best time to bolt up from her bed and flat out run to the toilet at the end of the hall, where they immediately heard the sounds of retching.

She winced and thought Emily might have done the same.

"I should go make sure she's okay," Emily said, and then her weight shifted off the bed and she was gone.

Naomi swung her legs over the side of the bed and planted them firmly against the cold wood of Emily's floor. She cradled her head in her hands and groaned as last night's drinking came crashing down around her ears. So this is what a hangover felt like, like someone had dropped knives inside her skull and rattled them around a little bit.

She didn't know how to deal with a hangover and her feelings about Emily's reaction to her eyes at the same time, so she went with the one that was easier to handle. Her head. She felt around for her clothes and was just putting on her jumper when the door opened again.

"It's just me," Effy said, and Naomi relaxed slightly. "I told Emily I'd walk you home."

They were at the bottom of the steps when the guilt of not saying goodbye before she left worked through Naomi's stomach and she turned back around and ran up them two at a time. She let the sound of Katie lead her to the twins, and she didn't open the door but she knocked on it lightly.

"Next time you decide to corrupt me," she said with more than a little bit of hangover grief in her voice, "let's not use so much vodka."

The sound of Emily's laughter followed her out of the house.

* * *

><p><strong>An: Holy shitload of words, Batman. So please let me know what you guys think. Still going strong? Something you really like happen in this chapter? How has your day been? I feel like we don't talk about YOU enough. XD **

**Seriously, a million hugs and kisses for all of you. **

**Until next time, cheers! ~FS**


	5. Chapter Five: Emily

**A/n: So I literally cannot stop writing for this story. That's cool. That seems healthy. Also? All the reviews? So much love you for you guys. I want to kiss you all. I see all of them even if I don't respond to all of them and my heart...'tis full to bursting. I've said it before and I'll say it again: just knowing you guys read and love this makes me work twice as hard on it. On a side note, let's have a moment to appreciate lizardwriter, who reads this (sometimes when I send it at 7 in the morning. Hi Liz!) and always says things like 'that doesn't make sense', 'it'd be great if she said something like...', 'and then maybe this could happen' and makes this story 100x better. I'm thinking of making her a section. Like: author's note, disclaimer, and then a section titled "ALSO? LIZARDWRITER". **

**The song used in this chapter is "Good To You" by Marianas Trench. **

**Disclaimer: Yeah, still own nothing here. **

* * *

><p>The Fitch house has a back porch with a roof over it. A little known fact about the Fitch house and it's porch roof is that it is possible to get onto that roof by climbing out the window in Emily and Katie's room that faces the back yard (the one that faces the side yard is a straight drop down into bushes two stories below).<p>

Rob figured this out before anyone else in the house, funnily enough, and the day after he did he marched straight up to the girls' room and nailed the window shut. Of course, this only tipped Emily and Katie off to the fact that it was now possible to sneak in and out of the house.

They were thirteen years old, and it only took two hours for them to pull the nails out and hammer them back in again so it only _looked_ like they were still holding the window in place.

So when Emily woke up early Sunday morning just as the grey beginnings of pre-dawn light started to brighten the sky, she threw on a hoodie, grabbed her sketchbook and a blanket, and shimmied the window open. The escape route was used so often the window barely made a sound when she shut it again after she'd climbed through, and what little noise it made was certainly not enough to wake Katie, who was still sleeping peacefully with her head halfway tucked underneath a pillow. The roof had a shallow incline, easy to walk on, and so she curled up in the blanket in the corner made from two parts of the house meeting, and started to draw.

With the rising sun throwing shadows over everything it was supposed to be a good way to practice her shading and keep her mind busy at the same time. But the view was the same one she'd been watching for years. The part of the neighborhood the Fitch house was built on was partially up a hill, rising a little above the surrounding areas, and the view from the roof stretched at least three or four blocks away. So while her hand was recreating the familiar lines of roofs of a view she'd drawn a thousand times over, her mind was racing.

She tried. She really, honestly tried to draw. The Johnson's house with its roof that looked like a mountain's peak and the malformed tree a few blocks away that had been struck by lightning, the early sunlight sparking off the weathervane on the roof of the Newman's house and the bird's nest in the sapling in her back yard. But everything reminded her of Naomi.

It was ridiculous. The way the morning sun fell across the rooftops reminded her of the way Naomi's hair fell prettily in front of her face, and the way the light glinted off the windows reminded her of Naomi's face turned upwards, her glasses reflecting the sun back into the sky. As the sun rose higher the blue of the sky reminded her of Naomi's eyes.

Emily had to set down her pencil and lean her head against the hard concrete of the outside of her house. She didn't take her eyes off the mix of colors on the horizon.

It was funny that she had tried to guess Naomi's eye color back at the beginning of the week. Funny in the ironic sense that there was no way she could have correctly guessed Naomi's eye color, because there was no way that it actually existed in nature. Naomi's eyes. Big eyes, pretty eyes, the artist in her admired the shape and symmetry of them, framed by beautifully long eyelashes. And such a clear, gorgeous blue that Emily had momentarily lost control of her body.

She knew at that moment she'd never really be able to draw Naomi, because she'd never really be able to capture her eyes. There was no pale blue that would match, no way to show someone the feeling of seeing them and being floored by them, no way to recreate the brightness that sparked within them that seemed to fly in the face of the logic that said they didn't work. Naomi's eyes worked. Maybe they didn't see anything, but in thirty seconds Emily saw more emotion and depth in Naomi's eyes than she saw in thousands of people who barely looked at her as she passed them on the street. Those expressive, stunning eyes. That blue that would be the death of her.

She would be eternally grateful for Katie and her timing, because when Naomi had asked if she was all right she couldn't answer. She wasn't even sure she could move. She wasn't sure if she wanted to move ever again.

Saturday had passed by in a blur of helping Katie get through her hangover and cleaning the house so thoroughly it actually looked better than when her parents had left. She hadn't talked much: not during cleaning, or when James came home from his sleepover, or all through the quiet dinner the three of them shared. Katie was hung over and assumed she was too, and James was smart enough to know that if neither of his sisters were talking he shouldn't be either.

She wasn't hung over. Well, she was, but not nearly as badly as Katie was. The truth was she was terrified. She couldn't draw properly because she needed a clear head; you're supposed to draw what you see, but she couldn't see anything besides Naomi.

Her head was full of her; bursting with her. And Emily was unabashedly scared. Scared of how fast she was falling, of how heart-stoppingly gorgeous Naomi was, of just how easily Naomi could break her heart without even knowing. That was what her morning drawing session was supposed to be about. Acknowledging the fear and moving past it. She'd tried her damnedest to be brave her entire life, even going so far as to move to Effy's for three weeks to prove to her mother just how serious she was about 'this whole gay thing', and like hell was she going to stop being brave now.

After Tuesday, she'd spent two solid days trying to convince herself she wasn't in love with Naomi. She'd told herself very firmly that she could be in lust, and be in crush, and be in very definite like. She listed all the reasons why she shouldn't be in full-fledged actual love: she'd known the girl for a few days and…

Okay, well that was the only reason she'd been able to come up with. But at least it was something

She made deals with herself in her mind. If the next car she saw was red then she wasn't in love with Naomi. If Josie called on her in class then she wasn't in love with Naomi. As the week wore on the deals changed. It was perfectly acceptable to be sort of in love with someone after three days. It was even more acceptable to be sort of in love with someone after four days. To be completely smitten with someone you met at the beginning of the week was fine.

She'd tried to put some distance between them, and it hadn't worked. Because it was just too easy to be around Naomi. Too easy to laugh, make jokes, reach out for little touches. Too easy to just _be_. And isn't that what she always wanted in a relationship? Someone to just be with and never have to worry about putting up a front? That was what was happening with Naomi, suddenly, effortlessly, and she wasn't sure if she liked it.

No, she _did _like it. And that was the problem.

The party had been in full swing by the time Effy had shown up with a surprise in the form of a certain blonde girl. She'd felt warm and a little lightheaded almost immediately, and she wasn't sure if that was from the alcohol, or the sight of Naomi standing her doorway, fidgeting nervously and biting her lip and looking absolutely scrumptious. It was the jeans tucked cutely into high tops, and the way her hair was just a little artfully mussed, and the sweater that hung off one shoulder and showed a bit of bra. Emily hadn't been able to help herself: she'd licked her lips. And Effy had definitely seen because she'd looked entirely too smug when Emily had grabbed Naomi and pulled them through the party into the kitchen.

Also, if the shove that sent Naomi flying into her arms on the dance floor wasn't intentional she'd eat her hat. She made a mental note to buy Effy a present; something nice. Heat curled in her stomach as she remembered the feeling of catching Naomi, holding the blonde girl completely against her, momentarily being a knight in shining armor.

Something _really _nice.

She breathed deeply until the heat had worked its way through her body and disappeared, before picking up her sketchbook and attempting to get some work done. Her hand moved automatically, her mind stayed exactly where it was. So while she drew the dips and lines of the houses in front of her, her thoughts replayed the night of the party over in her head.

The laughter, the dancing. _God, _the dancing. Dancing with Naomi felt great. Maybe a little too great, because she'd let Naomi's proximity distract her so much she didn't even notice Mandy standing there.

Her pencil dug into the page, shading one place entirely too dark. Emily looked at it and then continued on, trying to salvage that part of the drawing before it looked like a black hole had started forming on the paper.

_Ugh, Mandy. _The look on the tall girl's face, so full of anger and betrayal, would normally have made Emily feel guilty as fuck. Mandy was possessive, clingy, and way too impulsive, but Emily had never meant to hurt her, and every time that she was handed proof that she had she felt guilty. This time, when Mandy had reached out and pulled Emily out of Naomi's arms, there had only been anger.

Mandy had no right to a lot of things: no right to out her to her parents, no right to feel betrayed when Emily danced with other girls, no right to Emily, full stop. So Emily had made sure Naomi was in safe hands with JJ and Pandora before she'd dragged Mandy into her dad's office and told her that.

Usually when she fought with Mandy (and it happened with disturbing regularity for two people who had never actually been in a relationship) the gnawing pit of guilt in her stomach made her acquiesce to whatever Mandy was demanding. Texting each other, a dance wherever they were, a drink together. Now she was standing her ground, in fact she was digging in her heels, and Mandy must have noticed the change because she started trying every trick in the book to light the spark under Emily's guilt again. But you can't poke at something that isn't there, and Emily's guilt was finally gone. Banished by a tall blonde with an unbearably sweet smile.

_Naomi_. Jesus, she'd been grateful when Katie had broken up the fight, in her usual Katie style. And then when she'd looked over and seen Naomi standing in the hall, frowning and apologizing, and when Emily realized she had followed her because she had probably heard their fight, because she was worried, because she didn't like that Emily was upset? Her heart swooned a little bit.

And after that…the talk in the garden. There were not enough words, sentences, emotions, not enough anything to express what happened in the garden. Emily had spilled her guts, and it wasn't the alcohol that had made her do it either, but rather the warm feeling of Naomi's arm flush against hers and the absurd desire for Naomi to know as much about her as possible. She'd been nervous. She didn't normally talk about her past except to those that had been there to experience it. But Naomi's response hadn't been what she'd expected either. She'd thought Naomi would listen attentively, and because she was a genuinely nice person she would probably offer some platitudes. She hadn't expected to be cuddled and told she was a good person. Other people had told her that, Katie most often and at the greatest volume, but when Naomi said it she actually started to believe it.

The second way she hadn't expected Naomi to react was by opening up back. In fact she'd tried to stop it, sure that Naomi was only saying anything because she felt obligated to, but she'd been very firmly shushed. Her heart had broken all over the place throughout the whole story, and it was Emily's turn to want to cuddle her and make all the bad things go away.

It would be disturbing how good it felt to know that Naomi trusted her enough to talk about that, but she couldn't find it in herself to be disturbed. Naomi was rapidly becoming her best friend. Maybe some people were just meant to click together like that. Even if she wished they would click in a different way.

And she swore that thought wasn't supposed to be as dirty as it sounded.

Afterwards, when Naomi had turned to her and smiled with such open and genuine affection, she wasn't sure what would have happened if Katie hadn't shown up when she did. No, actually, she _was _sure. She was going to push Naomi against the ground and kiss her until Emily-colored fireworks went off in her head, presumed heterosexuality and Friend Zone be damned.

_No. Friends. Friends. Friends. _She repeated it like a mantra in her head. _I can be her friend. I can do this. I can. _

_Friends. Just friends. _

"Ow! Fuck! Jesus!"

Emily's looked over at the window where Katie was half in and half out, trying to sleepily climb onto the roof. It made her wonder if it was really so obvious where she went to hide away from the world, or if Katie just knew her that well. Probably a little of both.

When Katie did make it all the way out she pressed her back against the house and shuffled sideways to reach Emily like she thought the roof would suddenly become steeper and she'd just fall down it.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" she swore again. "Can't you find an easier place to mope?"

Emily reached over and grabbed Katie's arm, pulling her the rest of the way into the corner and offering her half of the blanket, which she accepted gratefully.

"I'm not moping," she said defensively. "I'm drawing."

"Really, Ems?" Katie looked sideways at her. "You're being a fucking cliché, is what you're doing. If you start wearing all black and writing weird poetry I'm going to start denying you're my sister."

Emily rolled her eyes. "We're twins."

"I don't care," Katie insisted. "I'm not mingling with Goths."

"I'm not turning into a Goth. I'm just thinking."

Katie shook her head. "Yeah, right. Don't tell me you don't feel a little emo right now."

That was unfortunately a little true. She was sitting on a roof, drawing the sunrise, and thinking about unrequited love. You didn't get more cliché than that unless a Good Charlotte song was playing in the background.

Katie knew she was right because she looked entirely too smug for a minute there. She rubbed tiredly at her eyes and peered down at the sketchbook. "Nice one. Don't you ever sleep anymore?"

"Not really," Emily shrugged. How could she, when she shut her eyes and all she saw was blue?

She was grateful for the way that Katie just put her head on Emily's shoulder and watched the sun finish rising with her. There were times when she wanted to talk about everything and times when she just needed silence. Katie seemed to get that, even if she didn't always obey that.

"I never thanked you," Emily said out of the blue when the birds began their morning calls.

"For what?" Katie murmured sleepily.

"For what you did at the party. Coming to my defense and throwing Mandy out like that."

Katie shrugged a little bit, but the motion transferred over to Emily because they were so close together. "Thank Campbell," she said. "It she hadn't taken off after you I wouldn't have ever known where you were."

"Thank you anyway," Emily snaked an arm around her sister's shoulders and squeezed.

Katie shook her head like it was no big deal, but Emily knew her sister was embarrassed because of the way her shoulders hunched forward a little bit. "You're welcome, or whatever," Katie said, and Emily shook her head. Couldn't stand being caught doing something nice, her sister.

"And I'm sorry," Emily said.

The older twin sat straight up and gave Emily an incredulous look. "_Now _what are you on about? Are you still drunk? Because the party was a whole day ago." She narrowed her eyes. "Did you ruin another one of my skirts again?"

She wasn't still drunk. The talk with Naomi had just been swirling around in her head and she'd only now realized there were several things she had to say to Katie that were long overdue.

"I didn't ruin anything of yours. And that wasn't my fault, just FYI," Emily said. She ignored Katie when her sister made a little disbelieving noise. "I'm sorry for how I acted last year."

Katie immediately became uncomfortable and started picking at the end of the blanket with her fingers. "Ems –"

"No," Emily cut in swiftly. "I've never apologized and I should have. I was a horrible sister last year."

Katie managed to find a loose thread in the blanket and she pulled and pulled until it popped out, where she proceeded to twist it around her fingers and avoid her sister's eyes quite spectacularly.

"You had your reasons," she said roughly. "Plus it's not like I was winning any sister of the year awards either."

"Still, the stuff I did was just plain dumb. I should have listened to you more. I should have talked to you about everything, and I'm sorry I didn't. I know you act like a bitch sometimes, but I promise I won't ever forget that you love me again, okay?"

Katie sighed and must have realized she wasn't escaping this conversation unless she actively threw herself off the roof. She finally looked up at Emily and her eyes were sad.

"It hurt like a bitch when you didn't talk to me about stuff," she admitted. "It kind of felt like I was losing my sister. And I guess I'm sorry for acting like such a giant bitch. I should have stuck up for you more with Mum and Dad. I really would do anything for you, you know? Even when you are acting like a twat."

"I know." Emily leaned over and kissed the side of her head. Katie shuffled away and made a disgusted face. "Emsy sham."

Katie's smile reached her eyes. "Katie sham," she replied. She hit Emily in the shoulder. "And I love you, twat."

"Love you too, bitch."

They just sat like that again for a little bit, both of their heads resting against the wall, until Emily rolled her head to the side to look at Katie as she said, "And that was stupid. You're my sister, Katie. I love you. I'll never really leave you."

The corner of Katie's mouth curled up in a smirk that told Emily her sister had been spending way too much time with Effy. "What about Naomi?"

Emily felt a blush creep up her neck. Of course Katie would have to bring up Naomi just as she'd managed to talk herself into being friends. She tried to protest, but the words got stuck in her throat and she choked on them. They came out scrambled and unconvincing.

"What _about _Naomi?" she asked.

"You're saying you wouldn't even leave me for Naomi?"

Her voice squeaked when she answered, "No!"

"Oh please, if you lusted any harder after that girl you would burst into flames on the spot."

"Katie!"

Katie rolled her eyes. "I'm just being fucking observant, Ems. You're like a puppy. You fall over your little feet for her."

It was Emily's turn to avert her gaze as she scuffed at the roof with her shoe. "We're just friends," she said, verbalizing her inner mantra. "She doesn't even like girls."

"Did you ask her that?"

The question threw her. "What?" she spluttered.

"Have you ever asked Naomi? Just gone up to her and said 'So do you ride the rainbow express to gaytown or what?'"

"That was the worst euphemism I've ever heard in my life."

"Whatever," Katie scowled. "I'm trying to be helpful. All I'm saying is don't rule out something you've never tried."

"She's my friend," Emily repeated firmly. "I'm not ruining that because I can't keep it in my pants around a pretty girl."

Whatever Katie was going to say in response to that was lost forever when they distantly heard the sound of their parents opening the front door and calling for them. They were back inside the house as quickly as possible so they wouldn't get caught, and with their parents around there was no more time to talk.

* * *

><p>Despite cleaning for almost all of Saturday, their mother <em>still <em>found chores that needed to be done before their weekly Sunday Fitch family dinner. Thankfully most of Emily's chores were in the garden, which had been and would always be her favorite place (although she avoided a patch of grass in the middle that was now changed forever).

Eventually they were set free to go to the market and get groceries for what their mum called, direct quote, "the world's most delicious vegetable soup". But this was Jenna Fitch, so they highly doubted it would be edible, let alone delicious.

Effy texted them to meet her halfway there and she walked them the rest of the way. From the matching smirks on Effy and Katie's faces, Emily smelled a conspiracy.

"What?" she asked suspiciously.

"You have a question for me?" Effy prompted as she lit up.

Emily was only confused for a little bit longer before Katie started to hum the wedding march under her breath. One of the cousins on the Fitch side was getting married that Saturday, and both of the twins had yet to find a date. Katie had mentioned earlier that she thought Cook would look well fit all cleaned up, and she'd _oh so subtly _dropped hints about who Emily should ask. Emily, on the other hand, figured Effy would be a safe bet.

"You free on Saturday? Our cousin Amanda is getting married and I could use a wingman."

"Oh Emily," Effy deadpanned, "what a romantic way to ask someone on a date. My heart is all aflutter."

"Psh," Emily rolled her eyes. "Just because they call it a date for an evening does not mean it actually constitutes as a date."

"You're making it so difficult to say no."

Emily frowned at her. "So don't say no."

"Unfortunately I have to," Effy said. "Because I have an actual romantic date with Freddie that night."

Emily warred with disappointment at her plan falling through and happiness for two friends who were finally getting their shit together. Happiness won and she gave Effy a big smile. "Well at least it's for a good reason."

"Yes," and Effy's small smile told more stories about her happiness than a grin ever could, "but now you have the dilemma of needing a date still."

Katie's face was full of mischief. "A date, huh?"

Oh god, what were these two up to? She should have never trusted them when Effy showed up to walk them to the market. Effy never just showed up anywhere without a plan in mind.

"Yes, a date," Effy nodded. "A pretty date, obviously. Can't go to a family event without having an advantage over everyone else. Someone she likes to hang out with. Someone she's comfortable with. A friend who wouldn't mind doing her a favor. This is just supposition, of course."

They were fucking dead, the both of them. They'd gotten together with the express desire to tease the hell out of her. She felt herself blushing as they both smirked at her. _Useless twats. _

"Obviously you're thinking of no one in particular," Katie said, continuing their game.

"No, no blondes at all."

"Can't think of a one."

"Especially not the platinum ones."

"You know, Eff, I'm just drawing a fucking blank."

"Blue eyes? Not remotely."

"I don't know why you would even think that."

"It's just a thought. An absurd one, really."

Emily's face felt like you could fry an egg on it. She shrieked out loud in frustration and started walking faster to get away from them. "I take everything nice I've ever said about you two back. I fucking hate both of you."

Their laughter followed behind her.

* * *

><p>They were still laughing at her when they reached the market and Emily saw the orange moped with the 'For Sale' sign propped against the door. Instant vehicle lust flooded her body. She <em>wanted <em>it.

It must have showed on her face because Katie grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away with a firm, "No! You don't have the money for that."

Emily grumbled. "I only work at the gym four days a week. I don't have the money for anything."

"What doesn't she have the money for?" Effy asked.

Katie scoffed. "That stupid scooter outside."

"It's a moped," Emily corrected automatically.

"Whatever. You're not getting it."

Effy was just shaking her head as she smirked. "You're just a glutton for danger, aren't you?" she asked. She followed Katie down an aisle and left Emily staring sightlessly at the row of magazines there, pondering how true those words actually were.

What else would you call someone who threw themselves into love with a girl who was probably going to break their heart, besides a glutton for punishment and danger? They'd continued their previous conversation during the chores in the garden, when they'd been away from their parents, but Katie hadn't been able to understand that what she was feeling for Naomi was different. Katie had reminded her of all the trouble she had gotten into last year, all the heartbreak, and _that _was just when she was going wild and fucking lots of pretty girls. There hadn't even been any real relationships involved. She just hadn't understood, and Emily didn't have the words to explain why it just _felt _different.

Poor Katie. Like everything else in their lives, the twins had different views on love. Katie was always looking for the fairytale: the proverbial knight in shining armor, tall and dark and handsome, who always said the right thing, and did the right thing, and every moment was magical. She would make their mum read them those stories every night. Cinderella and Snow White and Sleeping Beauty; glass slippers and poisoned apples and magic spells broken by a kiss.

Emily had never cared about that. She wasn't particular about blonde or black hair, tall or short, blue eyes or green. She didn't care whether they talked too much or not enough, whether they were loud or quiet, if they put their feet up on everything or always left clothes lying around. It wasn't stories that made love magical, it was people.

Katie wanted love to be a fairytale. Emily believed that falling in love was the fairytale.

"Are you going to stand there all day like a freak or are you going to come push this cart?"

Emily shook herself out of her thoughts to see Katie tapping her foot impatiently. She just rolled her eyes again and followed obediently after her sister.

* * *

><p>The only noise at the table was the clinking of silverware. Earlier on her father had commented vaguely on how clean they had managed to keep the house over the week, which almost made her choke on her food at the thought of just how long it took them to clean the house on Saturday. She actually thought the house might have been cleaner than when her parents left.<p>

Emily wished the silence was an unusual occurrence, but it was the way the Fitch family normally behaved around each other nowadays. It was like they had forgotten how to communicate with each other, and none of them seemed to know how to start fixing that.

Finally it was their mother who cleared her throat and broke the silence. "Girls," she said, and Emily felt a shiver of trepidation run down her spine. "Your aunt called today to remind us about your cousin's wedding. She wanted to know if you were going to use your plus ones."

Emily looked over at Katie and their eyes met in a moment of silent communication. They hadn't forgotten about it at all, but they weren't looking forward to telling their mum who they wanted for dates.

They were spared from answering by James making a face and whining, "Why don't I get to go to the wedding?"

"You're too young," Jenna said firmly.

James dropped his fork with loud clanking noise, the image of preteen indignation. "So why do they get to go?"

"The girls are older and they were invited. Now pick up your fork and finish your dinner, please."

"So fucking unfair," he grumbled as he did what he was told.

"Hey!" their dad reached over and cuffed him lightly around the ear. "No language like that in this house. Ten reps on the naughty bar."

"But-"

"Now, boy!"

Emily bit the inside of her cheek to keep her laughter internal as her brother pushed away from the table miserably and went to the doorway, where he jumped up to grab onto the bar installed along the top and pulled himself up to his chin and back down again. He counted every time his chin hit the bar. Having been sent to the naughty bar so frequently in the last year or so it was ridiculous, she was vindictively pleased when someone else had to have a go at it.

"So, your dates!" Jenna said cheerfully over the sound of James groaning.

Emily and Katie shrugged in synchrony. She could have sworn she saw her father smile at that out of the corner of her eye.

"I don't know," Katie mumbled first, swirling the soup in front of her into a tiny whirlpool with her spoon. "I think maybe I'll ask Cook."

Emily felt her anger start to build deep in her chest. Not at Katie, no way. At the fact that her mother, with her hard eyes and the disapproving line of her mouth, could turn her loud and sometimes obnoxious sister into this meek little mouse. She hated it in a way that made her want to throw things.

"Cook?" Jenna's eyes furrowed in a sign that was indicative of nothing but trouble. "Isn't that the delinquent who was arrested for selling drugs? Absolutely not."

Emily thought Katie's spoon would break, her sister was holding onto it so tightly. She hooked her foot around the leg of the table and fought the urge to defend their friend. Technically he'd been taken in for questioning and then released, and it had been to help Thomas out of tight spot anyway.

"What about Freddie?" Jenna continued on, either oblivious to the reactions she was getting from her daughters or choosing to ignore them, the latter being more likely. "He seemed like such a nice boy and you two made an adorable couple."

Katie made a face like she'd just bitten into a lemon. "For the millisecond that we dated when he took me to the Love Ball?" she asked, a little bit of Katie Fitch fierceness back in her voice. "Thanks but no thanks. He's got a date on Saturday with Effy anyway."

Jenna turned to look at Emily, completely disregarding everything the older twin had just said. "And maybe you can bring JJ, Emsy. He was so quiet and polite."

"Why would I bring JJ?" Emily asked. She was honestly curious as to what twisted thought process brought her mother to the conclusion that she would want to be JJ's date anywhere. He was her friend, and a nice-looking boy if you were into that sort of thing (which she wasn't), but no, just…no.

"Well he took you to the Love Ball as well, didn't he?" Jenna prodded not-so-subtly.

Emily couldn't quite contain the smirk that threatened to break out across her face. He _had, _actually, but it was just so he could look good with a date on his arm at the dance and so Emily could sneak off to spend her night drinking spiked punch and shagging a brunette named Shauna underneath the seats of the rugby pitch.

"Yeah but no, I don't think I'll be bringing JJ, Mum," she said, deciding not even Jenna deserved to be _that _disillusioned about her daughters. She shrugged nonchalantly and chewed whatever vegetable Jenna had thrown into the soup until it stopped fighting her as she mentally went through her past flings who wouldn't mind being her date for the evening. "I'll probably just ask Anya along or something."

Jenna sighed as if Emily had mortally insulted her in some way. "Emily," she said, rubbing her forehead like Emily was a child throwing a tantrum. "I wish you wouldn't do that."

"Do what?" Emily challenged, feeling the point where she lost control around her mother rapidly approaching. It was rushing towards her like a freight train and she was powerless to stop it. "Ask my friend for a favor or be gay?"

"Why don't you just take JJ to the wedding, Emily?" Jenna asked sharply.

"Because I'm still gay, Mum," Emily enunciated each word carefully, like she would if she were talking to a particularly slow child. "Would you like me to look it up for you in the dictionary? It's the definition right under the one about being happy, which I would be if you weren't such a raging –"

"Emily," her dad warned.

She cut the rest of the sentence off abruptly. Her dad was the only person she would do that for. She knew it pained him to see his family fight all the time.

"I don't know what's gotten into you lately," Jenna snapped. "Acting out like this, insisting on going through this awful phase of yours, wanting to go to that silly school."

Ah, there was the breaking point.

"It's not a silly school!" she shouted. Katie and her dad sighed at the same time. James had long since returned to the table and now he stopped eating so he could watch the show play out in front of him. "It's one of the best art schools in the country! And I could get in if you'd just let me _try_!"

"The quality of the school doesn't matter if you're not going," Jenna raised her voice a few decibels to match Emily's. "Which you are not."

"Because you won't help me go!"

"So you'd rather leave your poor brother and sister to run the family businesses alone while you run off to draw pictures of flowers all day?"

Emily stood up and slammed her hands against the table, and Jenna looked poised to the do the same until Katie's voice cut between them.

"I think she should go."

Everyone at the table turned around to stare at Katie, who to her credit didn't falter under the sudden attention. It wasn't in her nature.

Jenna's jaw clenched tightly. "Pardon?" she asked coldly, although she couldn't have missed Katie's words.

For half a second Emily thought Katie was going to back down. She wouldn't even have blamed her, not with the icy look in their mother's eyes that seemed liable to freeze her on the spot.

But instead Katie's spine stiffened, her shoulders went back, and she lifted her chin to look Jenna right in the eye. "I think she should go to art school."

"This really isn't any of your business, Katie," Jenna turned around to rail into Emily again and stopped when Katie shoved back her chair and jumped to her feet as well.

"It is my business!" she shouted, and the whole table reeled back in shock. Even Emily was blinking in surprise, although the surprise was quickly being overtaken by the warmth of pride. Sure Katie had been sticking up for her on a more regular basis, but she'd never shoved herself into a fight like this before. "I'm sick of standing by and watching you make Emily miserable!" Her voice lowered, until she was almost pleading with Jenna, who by this time stood as frozen as a statue. "She's good, Mum. She's really fucking good. And if you ever once looked at her stuff you'd see that."

Emily wasn't sure if she wanted to cheer, or cry, or hug her sister. Probably all three at once.

Jenna sat back down and pulled her chair primly up to the table. "Everyone sit down and get back to eating dinner, please," she said with disturbing calm.

Emily clenched her hands into fists. "May I be excused?" she asked stiffly.

"No."

She turned around and walked out of the room anyway, only vaguely hearing her mother shout after her and Katie start to follow. She started running when she hit the bottom of the stairs, like she could leave all the bad feelings behind if she ran up to her room fast enough.

The very first thing she saw when she got into her room was her sketchbook lying across the foot of her bed. In a sudden rush of anger and helplessness she grabbed it and chucked it across the room so that it hit Katie's wall with a loud bang and dropped onto her sister's bed. It fell open with the force of her throw and Emily resisted the urge to start ripping pages out of it. Instead she turned and threw herself face-first onto her bed, where she promptly burst into tears.

Normally she didn't let Jenna get to her that badly. But it wasn't just that she'd gotten into a fight with her mother, it was everything. It was falling in love with Naomi and trying so hard to just be her friend, it was feeling like she had no way of achieving her dream no matter how hard she tried, it was her mother's horrible ignorance.

But it wasn't even just that, either, because calling her mother ignorant was too small, too understated. Ignorance implied she just didn't know what she was doing, but she _did. _It was her unwillingness to accept anything about Emily. Not her love of art or her love of girls. She took everything that resided in the core of Emily's being and completely rejected it. Jenna Fitch looked right past her youngest daughter without ever seeing or appreciating her.

Katie sat down on her bed and rubbed her back soothingly as she sobbed into her pillow. She took a deep breath to try and breath properly again and realized the pillow still smelled of Naomi. She took another deep breath, and another, and another, until the scent had worked its way into her mind and calmed the raging tempest of emotions that beat at the inside of her chest. She rolled over to face Katie, still sniffling, and her sister wiped away her tears with the edge of blanket.

"Better?" Katie asked, sympathy written all across her face.

Emily nodded a little bit and curled up in a ball around her pillow. Katie got up and sat on her own bed to give her a little space.

"We can do this," Katie said quietly after a few minutes of Emily's uneven breathing being the only sound in the room. "You and me, we can do this. If you really want to go to that school we'll find the money."

"Katie," Emily buried her nose into the pillow cover and tried to hold back tears again. "We could work every day and save for years and not get enough money to cover the entrance exam fees."

"We can still try!" Katie said fiercely.

Emily didn't say anything in response to that because there was nothing she _could _say. She got good grades but her parents both had their own businesses and sizeable incomes. Financial aid would be hard to come by in those circumstances, and grants and scholarships? Forget it. There were far more deserving applicants, if perhaps not as talented.

"So you just don't want to talk about this?" Katie asked testily after it became obvious Emily wasn't going to respond.

"No."

"Well, that seems like a healthy way to deal with the situation," Katie sniped. This finally got a rise out of Emily as she glared at her sister, but she backed down a moment later. She didn't want to fight with Katie.

Katie's sigh made her wonder if maybe getting Emily to fight back had been her plan all along. Instead, Emily watched as her sister looked at the open sketchbook on her bed. Katie pulled it towards her and stared for a long moment at the page it was open at.

"Let's talk about this, then," she said and held up the notebook. It was the drawing of Naomi on the steps, which Emily had painstakingly finished from memory.

Emily shoved herself up and didn't miss the way Katie's face lit up at getting her to react. "I already told you," Emily started, but Katie cut her off.

"You can deny it all you want," she said smugly, "but you're my sister and I know you. You like Naomi. You like her a lot. You're even falling in love with her a little bit, if you haven't already."

The raging blush on Emily's face at the word 'love' would have made her obvious even to someone who _wasn't_ her twin sister.

Katie lobbed the sketchbook gently across the room and Emily caught it with sure hands.

"Just be careful this time?" Katie requested quietly. "I _just _finished fixing your heart from before. If that blonde bitch ruins all of my hard work I'll smack her in the face and pull that peroxide hair right off her head, don't think I won't. I don't care if she's blind."

Emily snorted. "The violence is unnecessary," she said warningly, protecting Naomi. Always protecting Naomi. "But thanks."

"I mean it," Katie reiterated. Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket, and then looked up at Emily. "We're done with all this emotional stuff, right?"

"Right," the corner of Emily's mouth tugged up in the world's smallest smile as Katie brought her feet up to sit cross-legged on her bed and started texting furiously.

Emily lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling, surrounded by soft blankets and the lingering sense of Naomi still being close by. She couldn't even get mad at Katie for the threats of violence, not really. It was just Katie's way of showing her love. That was just the way Katie's mind worked: hurt Emily and die. And at least now she was 99% positive that one of the main reasons that Katie disliked Naomi was because she was afraid she would break Emily's heart. Which, admittedly, was a very likely possibility.

She reached out her arm and grabbed her iPod haphazardly. Maybe if she drowned out the world for a little bit it would make today go away. It made little clicking noises as she scrolled through her selections. Missy Higgins would make her cry and so would OneRepublic. Mumford & Sons was a possibility, but it could go either way. Finally she just hit shuffle and relaxed. The iPod gods would choose for her.

"_Everyone's around, no words are coming out. And I can't find my breath, can we just say the rest with no sound?" _

_Well fuck you too, iPod gods. _

Her phone vibrated right next to her ear and almost made her jump out of her skin. She grabbed it without bothering to turn off the music, because it _was _a good song even if it made her feel like someone had ripped open her chest and very quickly punched her in the heart.

It was a text message from a number she didn't know. She read the words across the screen and her stomach leapt up to her throat.

_**So why did Effy have to give me your phone number? N xx **_

Her fingers saved 'Naomi' into her contacts before her brain gave any express orders to move.

"_I thought I saw a sign, somewhere between the lines. But maybe it's me, maybe I only see what I want." _

She quickly texted back: **I didn't even know you had a mobile. But thanks for making me feel like a crap friend. E x **

_**That's what I'm here for. Sarcastic comments and feeling bad about yourself. Occasional hilarity when drunk. N xx**_

The memory of drunken Naomi insisting and insisting until she finally climbed into bed was enough to put what felt like the first genuine smile of the whole day on her face. **You're a lovely drunk. Hardly disruptive at all. And you don't have to worry about making me feel like crap, my mum did it for you today. E x**

A return text was almost instantaneous. _**Are you all right? Do I have to trip someone with my cane? N xx**_

Naomi whacking her mother in the shins with her cane was such a funny image that she laughed out loud, and then clamped her hand over her mouth when Katie (still on her phone across the room) gave her a weird look.

**I can handle it. She's done worse. How was your day? E x **

_**Better than yours :( Except I had to give Bear a bath. I don't think I'll ever get the smell of wet dog off my clothes. N xx **_

Emily snorted again and rolled over, abandoning her pillow to cuddle with her phone instead. **Poor baby. The dog, not you. What are you doing right now? E x **

"_And I do want you to know I hold you up above everyone." _

_**You would take the dog's side. I'm trying to decide what ringtone to give you. Preferences? N xx **_

**Surprise me. E x**

"_And I do want you to know, I think you'd be good to me. And I'd be so good to you." _

She thought her grin was going split her face in two when Naomi's answer arrived.

_'**I've Just Seen A Face' it is, then. N xx**_

Emily rolled onto her back and held the phone against her chest. She felt the first stirrings of hope start to kindle in her heart, and although she knew it was dangerous she didn't immediately try to quash them.

She'd been mopey-Emily all weekend. Well, that was over. It was time to bring the fire back.

_I can do this. Being Naomi Campbell's best friend is better than being nothing at all._

* * *

><p><strong>An: It was pretty suspicious how quickly Naomi texted after Katie went on her phone, was it not? You'd almost think Katie had something to with it... :) So did you have fun in Emily's head. It's a fun place, right? (Emily's head is probably full of Naomi and pretty girls and rainbows, I feel like.) So tell me what you thought! You make my day, every day. **

**Also when Liz pointed out how appropriately inappropriate it was for Naomi's ringtone for Emily to be "I've Just Seen A Face" I might have laughed until I almost made myself sick. And Katie and Effy teasing Emily? Totally a conversation that happened between me and whyyesitscar. **

**Until next time, cheers! ~FS **


	6. Chapter Six: Naomi

**A/n: So sorry about the lateness in getting this chapter up, but it was three reasons. #1) This might be literally the longest thing I've ever written. #2) I've started working again. #3) I've once again entered that horrible few months of life known as university. Thankfully I tend to write chapters while in class. I live in fear of the day my professors ask to see the notes I'm jotting down so dutifully in the back. Also please excuse the Shakespeare nerd in me that bled over into Naomi in this chapter. **

**Hey, you know what time it is? Lizardwriter appreciation time. Cause she nagged me and read this through and is generally a cool human being? No question mark. Just an exclamation. !**

**Spot the Game of Thrones reference and get a virtual cookie. **

**Disclaimer: Nope**

* * *

><p>Wednesday morning the week after the party saw Naomi's precious shower time interrupted yet again, this time by her phone chiming somewhere in her room. By this point she had just been enjoying the feeling of the warm water running over her body anyway, so she quickly wrapped a towel around and hurried into her room, only to remember she'd completely forgotten where she'd put her phone down. Sighing at her own stupidity she whistled, and from the direction of her desk there was a beep in response.<p>

Thinking of her phone always made her grin evilly. Mostly because her mother was the hippiest hippie to ever hippie in the history of hippiedom, and yet most of the technology Naomi needed to help with her everyday life was made by the exact corporations that her mother used to protest against. So while her mother grumbled and groaned about the environment and capitalism and a billion other things, Naomi had an iPhone.

She whistled again and the little key-chain attached to her phone beeped again. Unfortunately Bear took this whistling to mean she wanted him and nearly bowled her over when he jumped off her bed and nudged her in the hip with his head. She grabbed the phone off her desk and hit the home button, after which a voice informed her, "Text message from," there was a short pause as her phone took a second to deduce who it actually was. "Emily."

Naomi couldn't stop the grin that broke across her face any more than she could stop the world spinning on its axis. She hit the reply button and chuckled as her phone read out,** "So I'm going to be a crappy friend again today. E x." **

As always, Naomi got a little fluttering sensation in her stomach when she thought about the hour-long text marathon that had occurred on Sunday. Not once during their entire conversation had Emily ever stopped to ask how it was possible. It was something Naomi really liked about her; that Emily could be so casual about Naomi's, well, everything. After a while of people constantly being surprised that you live a normal life, you start to believe that maybe you shouldn't. Emily never made her feel like that.

She'd freaked out a little bit that Emily would see their texts as flirting, and then almost immediately berated herself. Just like it was wrong to assume that Emily would have no trouble sharing a bed with a girl, it was also wrong to assume that just because they were laughing and joking around it would constitute as flirting. Still, it wasn't until Emily had met her by her locker as usual on Monday morning and acted just the same as she had on Friday morning that the nerves went away.

Technology was amazing. Otherwise she would never be able to text Emily back: **Ugh I don't know why I put up with you. N xx**

Monday during lunch her mother had texted to tell her that she'd be a little late picking her up that day. Emily had dropped everything and Naomi could feel her watching in fascination as she typed back.

"So _that's _how you do it!" she'd exclaimed, sounding just like a child who'd gotten a cool toy for Christmas.

Naomi had just laughed and explained to Emily how her phone worked.

She had a program called VoiceOver. She could slide one finger across the surface of the phone and it would control a cursor. One tap of her finger selected an application and the voice read out what was underneath the cursor. Two taps opened the application. Texting, for example, meant she swiped her finger until she encountered the 'messages' icon. Two taps opened it, and she could use three fingers to scroll down the page until she found the name and conversation she was looking for. It was the same with typing: one tap to have the letter read out to you, and two taps to put the letter into the text. As long as you had the keyboard memorized (which Naomi did) it didn't even take that much longer than regular texting.

Emily had spent at least an hour playing with it, if not more.

Her phone chimed. "Text message from…Emily." Of course it was tedious that things had to be repeated over and over again, but it was just something Naomi had gotten used to. **"I know, right? Way too much trouble. Anyway can't meet you this morning. Doctors appointment. Won't be in until lunch. You'll be okay? E x."**

Also something Emily did that Naomi was grateful for? Wrote complete words in text messages. Not to say the phone's attempts to read text-speak back to her weren't hilarious, but it was much more convenient when people just spoke English.

**I'll be fine, **she texted back. **Have fun getting poked and prodded at the doctors. N xx **

She put her phone down and went to get dressed because she figured that would be the end of it. She had on her jeans and was just pulling a dark grey t-shirt over her head when her phone went off again.

"**If there is any way that you can make that sound more sexual, please do. E x." **

Naomi burst into laughter so loud it startled her dog. He whined and moved away from her and she felt so guilty she sat on her bed and called him over again. He put his head in her hands and let her scratch that sweet spot behind his ear as an apology.

"You should meet Emily soon," she told him, her mind still on the person at the other end of the texts. "I think you'd like each other."

He made a snuffling noise and moved closer. "She's really nice," she told him, hooking her fingers underneath his collar and scratching there as well. There was no harm in talking to Bear; he'd always agree and never judge and it was nice to just gush to someone sometimes. As if to encourage this line of thinking he leaned his body further into her legs. "Like, probably the most genuinely sweet person I've ever met in my entire life. And she's so smart. She completely backed me up in politics yesterday when half the class didn't even know what I was talking about." Bear rested his head on her knee and she ran her fingers along the silky fur on the top of his head, playing with his ears. "And apparently she's gorgeous. A real inside-and-out sort of deal, you know?"

She cleared her throat, suddenly a little embarrassed. "Anyway," she finished, smoothing down the bits of fur she'd messed up. "You'll really like her."

He licked her wrist as if he was agreeing with her and that's when the idea struck. Harriet _had _said that Roundview would be accommodating Naomi's "special needs" and Naomi knew the way to her classes well enough that all she needed was a bit of a guide.

She shoved his head off her lap and got up to root around in her closet. It was in a box close to the front, and she knew that because that's where she put it, now if only she could find it…

"Ah-ha!" she backed out of the closet with his harness in her hands and a wicked smirk on her face. Bear, seeing the object in her hands, sat down obediently and barked once. "What do you think, buddy? Want to go to school today?" Of course he couldn't answer, but he didn't need to. He was always happy to go anywhere she wanted to.

* * *

><p>"Hey Blondie, dunno if you're aware but most girls just bring purses to school."<p>

Naomi stopped walking and Bear stopped obediently beside her. She grinned brightly at Cook. "Emily isn't here today," she said as if that explained everything. "So I figured I may as well bring another kind of guide."

"Aww, I could've been your guide," Cook offered. He fell into step beside her as she started walking towards her locker again. "Regular old guide dog over here."

"Hound dog, maybe."

"Wow, Cook, a week and a half and she's already got your personality pegged. Arm," Effy warned just before she elbowed her way past Cook and linked her arm through Naomi's. "Emily texted this morning asking me to keep an eye on you, but you seem to have that covered."

Naomi frowned. She couldn't help it, because there it was again. Just like when she left her with JJ at the party, Emily had asked someone to watch her again. It rubbed her the wrong way and she couldn't shake the feeling even as Effy stopped at her locker so she could grab what few textbooks the school had managed to procure in Braille.

She was grateful for the bit of alone time she got when Cook and Effy drifted farther along the hall, presumably to Cook's locker which was two classroom's down from hers. She turned her attention to her lock instead. Her lock was based on up-down-left-right movements, and all it took was her pressing the different directional arrows in her code (up-left-down-left-right) before it clicked open obediently. But just as she opened her locker door someone closed it again for her.

"We need to have a chat, Blondie," Mandy said.

Naomi's scowl deepened and she shoved Mandy's arm out of the way so she could open her locker door again. "My friends call me Blondie," she said coldly as she rifled around in her locker. It completely escaped her that this was the first time she'd referred to anyone in the group besides Emily as her friend. "The last time I checked we hadn't even been introduced. I'm Naomi, by the way. Nice to meet you."

She could tell her sarcastic tone of voice had made Mandy angry when her locker door was unceremoniously shoved shut again.

"Hard to be friends with the person who is trying to steal your girl," was Mandy's reply.

"Emily isn't your girl," Naomi snapped automatically. She turned around to face Mandy and shoved her sunglasses to the top of her head specifically because she knew that the sight of her eyes was unnerving to most people. She didn't like this girl and she wasn't going to pull any punches when it came to showing that. "And I'm not stealing her from you. She's my best friend."

Mandy snorted, actually snorted, which on her was highly unattractive. "Emily and I have a complicated relationship," she said loftily. "We've both done and said things we're not proud of, but nothing is perfect."

"Was outing her to her family before she was ready one of those thing you're not proud of?" she asked icily and raised an eyebrow. "Or was it when you slapped her across the face?"

Mandy was surprised. It showed in the way she took a step backward and sucked in a breath so quickly it whistled. She probably hadn't expected Naomi to know any of that.

"Actually, while we're on that subject," Naomi took a step forwards and Mandy backed away from her on instinct. "You're right, we do need to have a chat."

"That's creepy," Mandy said, and her voice shook a little bit. "Stop it. I thought you were blind?"

Naomi was completely blind, but she knew exactly what Mandy was so freaked out about. She had a neurological phenomenon known as 'blindsight', which happened to people with damage to their occipital lobe. She was aware of her eyes and their tracking motion, which functioned normally despite the fact that she couldn't see a thing. She could also usually accurately predict (enough times for it to be far more than just chance) things like location and type of movement. It didn't make up for not having her sight, but it was cool and pretty damn useful at times.

So at this very moment a pair of angry blue eyes were aware of Mandy stepping backward over and over until she had to stop against an open door.

"Emily is my best friend, and you are not her girlfriend," she repeated again, just so Mandy was completely clear on the subject. "And even if you were, I promise you that the next time you put your hand on her will be the last time that you have hands."

Mandy gulped. Naomi could hear her do it. But then she seemed to rally herself and she shoved Naomi backwards. The blonde girl stumbled a bit and reached a hand out against Bear to steady herself. Bear was impeccably trained, and so while his harness was on he wasn't going to react the way he normally would have to Mandy, but Naomi could feel his hackles rising underneath her hand. He didn't like that this girl had just put her hands on his human.

"I'm telling you for the last time, Blondie," Mandy warned. "Fuck off back to whatever hole you crawled out of."

"I told you not to call me Blondie," Naomi said, in a voice that somehow sounded much more threatening for being so even and calm. "And I'd like to see you try and make me."

The tension in the air between them was so thick you could slice into it with a knife. Naomi was shocked people weren't tripping over it in the halls. Surprisingly enough it was Cook's voice that broke the stand-off.

"Ladies, ladies, there better not be any fighting around here unless it's in some kind of mud pit. Having a fight would be pretty unfair to Naomikins, though," he said as he threw his arm around Naomi's shoulders. There was a hint of warning in his tone. Naomi couldn't help but think if Cook was a dog his hackles would be rising too.

She hadn't been expecting him to touch her but she didn't flinch away from his arm, actually leaned into it instead. She'd been about two seconds from throwing her first ever actual punch and the weight of Cook's arm around her brought her back from her anger and grounded her, stopped her from doing something stupid that she'd regret.

Well, she wouldn't regret hitting Mandy, but she might regret how angry her mother would be if she got in trouble so early in the school year.

Effy stepped up to her other side and Naomi suddenly had the mental image of how it must look to Mandy, her being flanked by two of Emily's best friends. She didn't even try to contain her smug smirk.

"Oh, I don't know, Cook," Effy said, her voice calculatedly disinterested. "I don't think Naomi should be discounted just because she can't see. I've no doubt she could get the upper hand if she really wanted to. Last I checked it looked like she was winning."

There it was again, that nagging feeling that Effy meant more than what she was saying. It was rather fucking annoying really, like trying to grab something just out of reach.

But where Cook's words were a shield meant to guard her, Effy's were arrows shot straight towards Mandy's vulnerable points. Cook was on the defense, Effy was on the attack, and Naomi realized with sudden clarity she was being protected.

"Besides," Effy continued, and Naomi could hear the smugness coating each word as it came out, "I don't think Emily would like knowing Naomi was injured in some way."

This time Naomi caught the double meaning and her smirk grew. Knowing _Naomi _was injured, implying that she really couldn't give a fuck if something happened to Mandy.

And just like that Mandy was retreating, recognizing when she was outnumbered and outgunned. She couldn't resist a parting shot, though, just like last time. She sounded rather proud of herself when she spat, "I'd tell you to watch your back, Naomi, but I guess you really can't, can you?"

"It was nice talking to you again, Mandy," Effy replied for her. The words were polite but her voice was very clearly saying 'you can pretty much fuck off now'.

Mandy left and Naomi resisted the urge to punch the air in victory, but only just. Instead she slid her glasses back into place smugly.

"Thanks," she said instead, turning first to smile at Cook and then Effy. "I mean, I could have handled it myself, but," she shrugged, "thanks anyway."

"Don't worry about it," Effy said. She handed Naomi the rest of the books she'd forgotten to take out before Mandy's little interruption and Naomi tucked them underneath her arm. "Emily would have actually killed us if we let you get hurt anyway."

Naomi reached for Bear's harness and frowned. There it was again: the insinuation that Emily thought she couldn't take care of herself. She was sure that Effy caught the frown because the feeling in the air changed, but before either of them could say anything Panda bounced up.

"A puppy!" Panda said, like the dog was actually made out of gold. "You brought a dog to school today, Naomi? That's whizzer cool! Can I pet it?"

"He is a working dog, Panda," Thomas's calm voice answered before Naomi could. "I believe it is bad to pet a working dog while he is actually at work, am I right Naomi?"

Naomi nodded and smiled at Thomas. "He's in his harness right now, Panda," she explained. "So he's concentrating on his job. He's got to watch out for obstacles and memorize the route I take and a whole ton of other stuff."

"Oh," Panda said. Naomi could almost feel the disappointment radiating off the girl. She was sure Panda's shoulders slumped.

"But how about I take his harness off after school?" she suggested. It was hard to make Pandora sad about something. You felt automatically guilty and sort of hated yourself for it. "That's his signal that he's not on the job anymore. You can play around with him then, if you like."

She knew she'd said the right thing when Panda lunged over and hugged her. She tried not to stiffen too much under the touch, just so Panda didn't feel bad. The bouncy girl didn't seem to mind, because she let go and clapped her hands. "Cool! Thanks Naomi, you're the best!"

Panda always said everything with so much sincerity that it made Naomi smile. JJ eventually started ushering everyone down the hall towards their first classes of the day (history, which she shared with Effy) and Naomi moved to follow but found herself held in place by Effy's hand, which had somehow found its way onto her shoulder without her noticing. Had she really gotten that comfortable around Effy?

The point was moot, and they must have been getting weird looks because Effy said simply, "I've got to talk to Naomi about a history assignment," and turned Naomi away from the group and down another hallway. Bear trotted obediently in front of them and a little to the left, just the way he'd been trained. He hadn't been shown the route to her classes yet, so he wasn't as bothered by the abrupt detour as she was.

Before she knew it Effy was opening a door and they were stepping outside. The burst of fresh air filled her lungs as she let Effy drag her over to sit down against concrete steps. She let go of Bear's harness and he lay down by her feet automatically.

"Fag?" Effy offered, holding her hand in front of Naomi.

Naomi ran her hand along Effy's arm and plucked the cigarette from her fingers. If there was one thing she'd learned about Effy in the short time she'd known her, it was that Effy did everything when Effy wanted to do it and not a second before. She wasn't particularly worried about missing class, because she was actually two steps ahead of the curriculum in that course anyway, and she'd honestly been a little bored.

"Are these the steps just outside the east entrance?" she asked. "A few meters down from where my mum usually picks me up? Near where the bus stops?"

Effy coughed a little. Naomi thought she might have been surprised. "Yes, actually. How'd you know?"

"The turns we took," Naomi said with a little shrug. "I've walked from my locker to these steps every day to get picked up. Also the bus is around here all the time, so it leaves the smell of diesel behind."

"Observant," Effy said.

Naomi shrugged again. "I have to be, don't I?" she said as she took a drag and exhaled smoke. "Emily was sitting where you were when she started to draw me."

The mention of Emily reminded her that she was annoyed with her friend and she frowned. She didn't like being annoyed with Emily, but she didn't like being treated like a child either.

"And there it is," Effy said triumphantly. "That little scowl whenever Emily comes up. Why the sour face? I thought you two were peas in a pod."

Naomi took another drag and held the smoke in for as long as possible before she blew it all out in one breath. "I'm not a child," she said when her lungs were clear. The irony that she sounded very much like a child when she said that did not escape her notice.

"I'm pretty sure that Emily is aware of that," Effy said, supremely amused about something.

She didn't say anything after that, though, and her silence weighed heavier on Naomi's chest then if Effy was asking her to talk. Before she knew it words were just pouring out of her mouth without her permission.

"She shouldn't treat me like one, then! It's so frustrating sometimes. I've lived half my life like this. I don't need her to ask people to watch me all the time. It's none of her business!"

There was a long pause where all Naomi did was breathe heavily. Finally Effy flicked away her cigarette butt and lit another. "Finished?" she asked quietly.

Naomi swallowed twice to get past the thickness in her throat. "Yes," she said.

"Two things," Effy said, and Naomi heard her flick the lighter on and off again. "The first one is a hard truth, and all I'm asking is that you stick around after I say it to hear the second thing. Deal?"

Naomi nodded hesitantly.

"Good. Here's the first thing, Naomi: the world is always going to be a hundred times more dangerous for you."

If she hadn't already promised to stay and hear Effy out, Naomi would have been out of her seat and far away by now. As it was she clenched the fabric of her shirt in her fist and twisted it. She was sure Effy noticed, but she continued talking anyway.

"It's just the truth," Effy said. "And I'm sorry but there's nothing anyone can do about it. There are probably ten things nearby that could hurt you right now that I wouldn't even have to worry about. It's a fact of your life."

Naomi's emotions were whirling. On one hand, she knew that Effy was only saying something that was absolutely true, something she knew and had to deal with every day. Normally she didn't acknowledge that. Life would be ten times more difficult if she let herself worry about every little thing that could possibly go wrong. She'd let herself think about it once, how dangerous the world was for her to live in, and it had almost inspired a panic attack. The flip side of that kind of thinking was that sometimes she didn't care enough, and on more than one occasion she'd been unnecessarily hurt because she hadn't been careful.

On the other hand, she really didn't want to hear it. And having it come from someone she knew considered her to be a friend didn't soften the blow any. Eventually she relaxed and she let go of her shirt, smoothing down the rumpled fabric.

"And the other bit?" she prompted tightly when she'd regained some measure of control.

"This is going to start at a weird point and continue on," Effy warned. "So bear with me, yeah?" She waited for Naomi to nod before she continued. "The twins are a lot more alike than you would think."

Well, Effy was right. That was a weird point to start on.

"What I mean to say is they are so completely different almost all of the time, it's easy to forget that they're genetically similar, except for the times when it's shoved in your face. I heard you were there for the Mandy versus Katie fight at the party?"

Naomi smiled, remembering the way Katie had almost physically thrown the other girl out of the house, and she nodded again. She still didn't trust herself to speak but at least she could listen.

Effy laughed a little. "Then you've already encountered the force of nature that is Katie Fitch's protective streak. But the thing is," and here she reached out to brush her fingers against Naomi's shoulder again, "Emily has one too. And it is just as fierce and just as stubborn."

"Okay," Naomi said, "but that doesn't change the fact that she is constantly asking people to watch out for me."

"It's not for you," Effy said simply. "It's for Emily."

Naomi's frustration was building. "That doesn't make any sense," she snapped.

Effy sighed and Naomi suddenly felt like that one kid in class who can't seem to grasp what the teacher is saying.

"Sometimes Emily can't go out with us," Effy said, switching gears abruptly. "Whether it's because she already has plans with someone else, or she's sick, or she just doesn't feel like coming out, sometimes it's just Katie coming along with the rest of us. And every time, without fail and no matter what the reason, Emily will ask me to keep an eye on Katie."

Naomi's eyebrows shot up in surprise and stayed there.

"I know," Effy agreed with the expression on her face. "If there's anybody in the world who knows how to take care of herself, its Katie Fitch. But Emily doesn't ask because she thinks Katie needs to be looked after. She asks because _Emily _needs to be sure Katie is looked after."

A bit of the tightness in Naomi's chest, that had been there since the beginning of her talk with Effy, started to loosen. She leaned forward and put her hands on her knees, completely enthralled with what Effy was saying. This was something about Emily she didn't know, an insight into her heart she hadn't previously been privy to, given by someone who knew her best.

"When Emily cares about someone," Effy explained as if she knew exactly how much Naomi needed to hear the words, "she gets really anxious when she's not there to make sure that they're safe. She's not asking us to watch out for you because she thinks you can't take care of yourself. She asks us to watch out for you because she worries when she's not here to do it herself."

Naomi had completely forgotten about the lit cigarette in her hand and now the ashes had reached a point where they started to burn her fingers. She dropped it quickly and winced when she felt it hit her shoe. She ground it into the concrete with the toe of her sneaker, shaking her hand a little to relieve the tingling sensation in her fingertips. Bear whined a bit, obviously displeased with it being dropped so close to his head, and she scratched his ears absently. Effy was silent as she let her process all the information she'd just been given.

Very slowly the annoyance that had been building and building for days broke like a wave, crashed and turned against a wall, and washed over her again as a new emotion: a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest. What was once annoying was now endearing. She couldn't be mad at Emily for caring about her, it would be hypocrisy; especially considering she herself had worried about Emily at least ten times at the party alone.

"Understand now?" Effy asked when enough time had passed.

Naomi nodded. "Yes," she said with a small smile.

"And while we're on the subject," Effy said, and Naomi's little smile disappeared completely at the edge of steel that crept into Effy's voice, "I know you can probably go to fisticuffs against Mandy and win, but I'd rather not see you try. It would hurt Emily to see you get hurt, and I'm not about to let you play with Emily's emotions because you feel like you have something you need to prove to the world."

Naomi almost wanted to argue, but she didn't. Effy was just protecting her friend after all. And as much as they accepted Naomi into the fold she still had to remember that Emily had been there for longer and their connection was deeper. She couldn't blame Effy for doing something Naomi would do in the same situation.

"You're right," she said instead. "And thank you, I guess. For talking me down about this."

"Well you know," Effy lit up another fag and blew some smoke into Naomi's face. "I like to –"

" – see my friends happy," Naomi finished for her with a cheeky little half-smile, having been on the receiving end of that sentence a couple of times. "You know, Effy, I'm starting to think you're just a genuinely nice person."

"Whatever."

"Your secret is safe with me."

* * *

><p>Naomi had lunch with Kieran.<p>

Actually, that wasn't the complete truth. Naomi had gone to Kieran's classroom to bum money off him for lunch and was offered half of his packed lunch instead.

"The mutt is here!" he'd greeted her when she'd knocked on his classroom door. "Oh, and she brought a dog with her today."

She'd made a face at him and crossed her arms. "Nice," she'd said with an eye roll. "Solid joke. Do you have a few pounds to spare?"

"I've got plenty, according to your mum," he'd said, and she'd heard him smack his stomach. "Got nothing for you though. Why don't you come on in and we'll share my bag."

And so that was how she'd ended up sitting on top of two desks pushed together, eating lunch with her stepdad and complaining about her absentminded English teacher Josie, while Bear waited patiently below hoping for a bite of something to drop.

"Where's your wee little hip attachment?" Kieran asked around after she'd run out of steam ranting about Josie and her hand puppet. "Don't you normally have a redheaded growth growing off of your arm?"

Naomi uncrossed her legs and kicked at his side of the makeshift table. She missed, of course, and he laughed at her. "I think technically I'm the blonde growth growing off of hers," she corrected. "But it doesn't matter anyway because she's not here today."

"Speak of the devil," Kieran muttered. He lifted himself off the desk with a groan and she heard him go over and open his door. "And the world has righted itself again," he said mockingly as he walked back over to Naomi. "Glory hallelujah."

"Hey Naoms," Emily's voice greeted her for the first time all day. The warm fuzzy feelings came rushing back. Emily had said that she and Katie would be back for lunchtime, which meant that she must have been dropped off and then came straight to find her. "Hello large furry animal lying underneath Naoms."

"Emily!" Naomi slid off the desk herself and stood up, brushing bits of crumb off her shirt.

Bear sat up immediately; he was wagging his tail so hard the whole lower half of his body wiggled along with it and kept smacking into Naomi's leg. His Naomi was happy to see this new person so he was happy to see this new person too.

"Oh, here." She knelt down next to him and carefully unhooked his harness so he knew he could act like a regular dog now. "Emily, this is Bear. Bear go say hi to Emily," and she nudged him a little. That was all the encouragement he needed to shoot forward and make a new friend.

He must have been doing his best puppy impression with her, if Emily's delighted laughter was anything to go on.

"He's so _cute_," Emily exclaimed, and it made Naomi smile. "And you two match."

"I'm not sure what you're implying," Naomi drawled.

"Oh don't get your knickers in a twist, Naomi," Emily said, and Naomi could practically imagine the playful grin that accompanied that. "I just meant he's got really light yellow fur and you've got really light hair. I think it's funny."

"Obviously that's why I picked him," Naomi replied. "The aesthetics."

Emily snorted and hopped onto Naomi's vacated spot on the desk, pulling her back up with her and pressing her entire left side into Naomi's right. She was always doing that, keeping some sort of contact, and Naomi didn't mind. She found it sort of comforting, actually. She'd thought it was just Emily's way of reminding her that she was nearby, safe and sound, but after her talk with Effy she couldn't help but wonder if maybe it was the other way around. Either way she reached down and linked their hands together, giving Emily's a squeeze.

She spent the next bit of lunch sharing what Emily brought with her and catching each other up on their day (and she knew for a fact that Emily was slipping Bear bits of food underneath the table because she could hear his jaws snapping as he grabbed whatever she threw to him). She smacked Emily in the arm to get her to stop and was mortified when Emily recoiled away.

"Ouch! I did just have to get a vaccination, Naomi," she snapped.

Naomi kissed her fingers and reached out to brush them against Emily's arm. "Sorry," she said guiltily.

Emily sighed and muttered something under her breath before she scooted closer again. "Jerk," she said louder, affectionately.

"Lunch is almost over," Kieran reminded them from the other side of the room. Naomi almost jumped; she'd forgotten he was there. "And as for your English class, I think you're just going to have to deal with it."

"What happened in English today?" She could tell Emily was smiling as she bumped her knee into Naomi's. "Did Gerald pick on you again?"

"It's not funny. That hand puppet has it out for me."

"Wait, did something actually happen in English today?" Emily asked. Great, now she was worried and it wasn't even as big of a deal as Naomi was making it out to be.

"It's Josie," she complained grumpily. "She assigned the class to read the first few scenes of Merchant of Venice, except I don't _have _Merchant of Venice because this stupid school takes forever to get copies of stuff in Braille. Which means I have to go find the audiobook online somewhere or I have to fall behind a day or so in class since you and I couldn't meet up to read in the library today. Which wasn't your fault," she added hurriedly, before Emily could think she was blaming her. "It's just stupid."

"Why doesn't Emily just come over to ours after school?" Kieran asked absentmindedly. "She can be your reader there."

Naomi's face lit up as she turned towards Emily and she couldn't stop the wide smile from spreading over her face. "That's a brilliant idea, actually. If you want to I mean. You don't have to. I was just –"

"Sure," Emily interrupted before Naomi could work herself into a ramble.

"Great!" Naomi said a touch too enthusiastically. She almost cringed at how eager her own voice sounded. She tried to play it off instead, throwing her voice a few octaves higher and spinning her hair around one finger. "And we could, like, braid each other's hair and, like, talk about boys, and, like –"

She didn't think it was very fair when Emily started throwing paper balls at her. It's not like she could see them coming.

* * *

><p>True to her word, Naomi let Panda play with Bear after school while she waited for Kieran to drive around the side of the building and pick her up. It turned out that Emily had to run home and grab her books so she left after Kieran showed up, promising to be over as quickly as possible.<p>

The only problem with that was that there was now enough of a gap between school ending and Emily coming over for Naomi to get nervous.

She tapped random patterns against her leg all the way home until Kieran asked if she was trying to drown out the song on the radio. She bumped into the table in the hall _again_ on the way into the kitchen. And it took her two tries to get Bear's harness off because her hands seemingly forgot how to work the clasp.

Her mother was almost embarrassingly excited that Naomi was having a friend come over. She wanted to know all about Emily: how they met, what her family was like, what _she _was like. And Naomi hated it, because every question reminded her that Emily was coming over.

Emily was going to be in her house.

She didn't know why that made her anxious, but it did. That warm feeling and the fluttering sensation in her stomach was back. It was almost a familiar reaction by now, it had been happening ever since the party and she still had no clue what it meant.

It was the first time any of her Roundview friends had been invited her house (not counting Effy who had invited herself), and _of course _it would be Emily. Pathetically, it was the first time she'd invited a friend to her house _ever. _That probably accounted for the nervousness.

The doorbell rang before she could get too deep into her own head and her mum took off to answer it before Naomi was even halfway out of her chair. Naomi found herself praying to every deity she could think of that her mother would act like a normal human being for five seconds. She heard the door open and held her breath.

"Hello there!"

"Hello," she heard Emily reply politely. Okay, this was okay. Everything was progressing normally so far. "Do you prefer Mrs. Campbell or Mrs. Mac Foeinaiugh?" She even pronounced it correct (mac-phew) which made Naomi wonder if Kieran had ever said it out loud for them, considering that he just liked it better when people addressed him by his first name.

"Oh please, sweetheart, call me Gina."

"Gina it is then. I'm Naomi's friend Emily."

This was good, this was okay, Naomi could deal with this.

"Of course you are. Naomi's talked about you non-stop."

Nope, this was not good or okay. This was horrible. This was not going well at all. Naomi could not deal with this.

"Really? Well I like your daughter quite a bit. She's a great person."

Better; this was much better. It was even verging on pleasant. She'd just stay in the kitchen and let them keep talking for a bit. That seemed like a good plan.

"Thank you, I think so too. And just look at you! Aren't you the most gorgeous little thing I've ever seen."

Not a good plan. Not a good plan at all. Retreat, abort mission, abandon ship. Why couldn't her mother just respect personal boundaries? Naomi was up and out of her seat before her mum could say something else potentially mortifying. At least there was no chance of her mum saying anything that could possibly be more embarrassing than that.

"Naoms," Emily spotted her the minute she stepped out of the kitchen, "what is with your family and my height?" She was laughing, though, so she must not have been too embarrassed about Naomi's mother gushing over her. "Kieran always tacks 'wee' in front any sentence he uses to describe me," she explained so Gina wouldn't feel out of the loop.

Gina laughed too. "That sounds like my husband," she said affectionately. "So what are you two up to today? Are you and _Naoms _just, what do they say? Chilling?"

Nope, she was wrong. There was definitely a way for her mother to be more embarrassing. Also, the emphasis on Emily's nickname for her did not go unnoticed. Her mother was probably having paroxysms of delight that Emily had a nickname for Naomi.

"We're reading in my room and we're going now," Naomi said quickly. She grabbed at where she was pretty sure Emily's hand was, and thankfully only brushed against her jeans really quickly before she got it right. Emily didn't seem to mind that Naomi had just felt her up a little bit but followed behind her instead when Naomi started to drag her up the stairs. "Bye Mum."

"Sorry about that," she said when she'd gotten Emily into her room and closed the door firmly behind them. She let go of Emily's hand and sat on her bed, feeling leaps and bounds more comfortable in her own space. It was the one room she knew absolutely and completely. "My mum is a little horrible sometimes."

"I think she's nice," Emily said. Naomi heard her drop her bag next to Naomi's desk and sit down on her computer chair.

"She's a cliché," Naomi said.

"She's a nice cliché," Emily countered. "We could switch, if you'd like?"

Naomi's face dropped as she remembered what Emily had to go through with her mum. Suddenly having her mother be really excited to meet her best friend didn't seem as bad. The burst of guilt was intense. "Sorry," she said.

"Naomi," Emily sighed. "I didn't say that to make you feel guilty. I just meant your mum is really great. I like her."

"Good, because apparently she likes you," Naomi rolled her eyes playfully, but she was pretty serious. Gina had obviously adored Emily the minute she saw her. Naomi was beginning to suspect that was just an Emily thing.

* * *

><p>"What's this?"<p>

Despite the fact that Emily had come over to help her with her English reading, they hadn't even cracked a book yet. Naomi was following Emily's voice as she wandered around her room, taking in everything, picking up and touching things, asking Naomi where'd she gotten this or that, what this was used for.

"What's it look like?" Naomi prompted with a little smile. She never yelled at Emily or tried to make her feel guilty when she asked a question like that and honestly thought Naomi should just be able to answer. She actually kind of liked that Emily forgot she couldn't see sometimes. It made her feel normal.

"Looks sort of like a type-writer, I guess," Emily said. "Except with less keys? You know what a typewriter looks like, right?"

"Sure," Naomi nodded. Her dad used to have one, once upon a time. "That writes notes in Braille for me. See the bumps on the keys?"

"Oh!" Emily's voice was soft as she explored the new toy in front of her. "But don't you already have a printer and a laptop that does that?"

Naomi didn't want to explain that in the hospital she'd been told she should start keeping a journal. It would help keep her mind sharp, they said, and it would help her feel better if she absolutely refused to talk to anyone else. So her mum had bought her that, back when laptops were too expensive. And so she had kept a journal, which she still did to this day. Every day she'd come home and add something new to her journal (a journal which Emily would never read, since lately some of the more significant entries had been about her).

"Yes, but we had that first," Naomi explained instead. "And it's good for my mum or Kieran to use when I don't want them touching my stuff, or when I can't be arsed to boot my computer up. Here," she shoved herself off her bed and moved over to the side of the room Emily was in. She carefully explained the keys to Emily, and how each key pressed in different combinations produced different letters and words. Then she hit a few of them in rapid succession and pulled the sheet from the typewriter, setting it down on the desk in front of them.

Naomi pulled her over so Emily was standing in front of her. She grabbed her hand and arranged it so that Emily's pointer-finger was extended, then covered Emily's hand with her own and brought them both down together against the Braille she'd just typed out. "Use just the one finger and move it against the page," she explained, her voice low since her head was so close to Emily's ear anyway. She felt Emily shiver a little and frowned. The window was open but she didn't think it was that cold outside.

She'd been reading it for so long she already knew what Emily would be feeling under the pad of her finger. Two dots diagonal from each other, the left one higher and the right one lower. "E", Naomi said. Then the next letter, three dots this time: two directly on top of each other, and one directly to the right of the top one. "M." The next was exactly like the first, but reversed: still diagonal but the left one was lower and the right was higher. "I."

Emily's breathing was a little shaky when Naomi rested her chin on Emily's shoulder as she guided her hand across the letters. It made her wonder if Emily was uncomfortable with her being so close, but then Emily stepped back a little so they were even closer together and Naomi figured she was okay with it. The next letter had three dots, all one on top of the other. "L," Naomi said. The last letter had the most dots (five) in two lines: a dot, and then a space, and then another dot, and then right next to those were three dots stacked on top of one another again. "Y," she finished off proudly, smiling against Emily's shoulder.

"Emily," the smaller girl repeated. She was smiling too. Naomi could hear it in her voice. "You wrote my name in Braille?"

Naomi stepped away and felt a little colder because of it. "Now you try," she encouraged.

It took three times and Emily cursing twice, but eventually she managed to write her name twice in a row, and Naomi clapped just a little mockingly.

"Shut up, Naomi," Emily grumbled. "I just like your gadgets."

"They're fun," Naomi acknowledged.

"I told Katie I was texting you this morning and her face was priceless," Emily said. "She looked like you were performing Black Magic."

"Did you explain my phone to her?"

"I couldn't stop laughing long enough."

* * *

><p>"Antonio and Bassanio are definitely gay for each other," Naomi announced suddenly.<p>

They'd finally moved from Naomi's desk to her bed. Naomi was sprawled out horizontal, with her arms behind her head and her legs hanging off the side of the bed, while Emily sat cross-legged by her headboard and read out the scenes. Naomi would listen intently and commit them to memory, sometimes taking notes if she thought of something important to add. The radio was playing quietly in the corner and her glasses had long since been abandoned somewhere on her desk. The longer she went being glasses-less with Emily in the room the more comfortable she felt about it.

"Bassanio spends half of the play trying to marry Portia!" Emily protested.

Naomi lifted her hand into the air and pointed accusingly at the ceiling. "For money!" she countered. "Money to pay back –"

"Shylock," Emily interrupted.

"Who was threatening Antonio," Naomi added smugly. "Antonio was the one who stood to lose something if Shylock wasn't paid, not Bassanio."

Emily huffed and closed the book over for a moment. "Please don't tell me you're taking a play based in blatant anti-Semitism and trying to make a case for homosexuality."

"I'm just _saying_," Naomi defended. "Bassanio literally tells Antonio that he loves him more than his own wife. Who says that? Especially when your wife is someone like Portia."

Emily leaned towards her and Naomi pushed herself up on one elbow to match. She knew that Emily was looking right into her eyes and it didn't seem to make her uncomfortable at all. Her heart swelled.

"You're a fan of Portia then?" Emily asked, and even though she was definitely teasing Naomi decided to answer her seriously.

"Fuck yeah," she nodded emphatically. "Portia is the best character in the entire play. Not to mention the smartest. The very end of the play, where Antonio and Shylock are facing off in court and it looks like Antonio is going to have to cut out a pound of his own flesh?" She reached out and tapped the cover of the book, bumping Emily's hand in the process. "It's Portia that saves the day. She's the one who dresses up as a man, outwits Shylock, and winds up saving Antonio's sorry ass."

"Why am I reading this to you again?" Emily asked, sounding like she was holding back laughter. "You seem to know the whole play."

Naomi blushed and ducked her head. "Josie wanted specific lines," she said, embarrassed by her own dorkiness.

"Hey," Emily put two fingers underneath her chin and lifted her head back up. "I think it's cu – cool."

"You should hear me talk about politics," Naomi grinned at her and Emily laughed.

"So if Portia is your favorite in this," Emily said (Naomi heard her waving the book around in the air), "do you have other favorites?"

"Beatrice in _Much Ado About Nothing_," Naomi answered. "Rosalind in _As You Like It_."

"Juliet?" Emily suggested.

"No," Naomi said firmly. "Juliet is one of the worst characters to ever hit literature. Maybe short of Bella Swan."

"I'm not touching your Twilight hatred," Emily said. "But why do you hate Juliet? Most people consider her to be the epitome of romantic love. And she's one of his most famous heroines. _Romeo and Juliet_ ringing any bells?"

Naomi shoved herself into a sitting position. "Juliet is _not _the epitome of romantic love," she said passionately. She wasn't even aware that her face was flushed as she waved one arm around in time with her rant. "Nor is she a heroine. Give me Beatrice matching wits with Benedick. Give me Rosalind fooling Orlando. Give me Portia manipulating her father's game. Give me Kate. Give me Hermione. But please don't look through Shakespeare and give me _Juliet Capulet _as a heroine."

"Wow," Emily's voice was breathy. "Well when you put it like that…"

Naomi clapped her hands together in victory and Bear jumped up onto the bed, taking that as a sign that Naomi wanted to cuddle. When she shoved him away he moved to the other end of the bed and Emily squeaked.

"Your dog is trying to use me as a pillow," she sounded like she was being crushed. "He's not a lap dog!"

The mental image of Bear trying to lie on top of pocket-sized Emily popped into her head and Naomi almost rolled off the bed she was laughing so hard.

* * *

><p>Emily was eventually saved from suffocating under Bear (who had to be subsequently kicked out altogether for being unable to be in the same room with Emily and not try to use her as a cuddle-buddy) and they finally got back to what they were supposed to be doing: reading Shakespeare.<p>

"If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches and poor men's cottages princes' palaces. It is a good divine that follows his own instructions: I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching."

They'd switched positions again, this time lying head-to-feet on Naomi's floor. Emily's fingers played with the bottom of Naomi's jeans as she read, and every so often she would nudge Naomi's shoulder with her foot. It made Naomi wonder; another constant reassurance to Naomi that Emily was right there, or a reassurance to Emily that Naomi was?

"The brain may devise laws for the blood, but a hot temper leaps o'er a cold decree: such a hare is madness the youth, to skin o'er the meshes of good counsel the cripple. But this reasoning is not in the fashion to choose me a husband."

Naomi was beginning to think that maybe having Emily read to her was not the greatest idea she'd ever had. Emily's voice was like gravity, always pulling her forward, making her want to be closer. Naomi wanted to reach out and touch Emily somehow. The urge was so strong that her hand started moving and she had to reroute it midair, her hand going to Emily's knee instead. Emily's leg jerked a little underneath her touch.

"O me, the word 'choose!' I may neither choose whom I would nor refuse whom I dislike; so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father. Is it not hard, Nerissa, that I cannot choose one nor refuse none?"

Emily sighed and Naomi heard her put the book down. "Sorry," she said when Naomi pushed herself up onto her elbows to frown curiously at her. "Portia's talking about choosing a husband and it just reminded me of something."

Naomi raised an eyebrow. "Is your mother forcing your suitors to work their way through a riddle in order to win your hand in marriage?"

"She would if she could!" Emily giggled. "But no. I've got a cousin's wedding to go to on Saturday and no one to go with."

There was no one who wanted to be Emily's date to a wedding? Naomi found that highly unlikely. She knew people found Emily gorgeous just in jeans and a t-shirt; Emily dressed up to the nines had to be stunning.

"Effy had to ruin my original plan by having an actual social life," Emily continued. The little sarcastic lilt in her voice made Naomi smirk. "And anyone else I asked would be expecting it to be a _date _date."

Naomi tensed. "And you don't want that?" she prompted nervously.

"No!" Emily groaned and Naomi heard what she could only assume was her hand smacking against her forehead. "I want to go with a friend and have fun. I'd ask you," she said, and Naomi's stomach flipped, "but you probably wouldn't want to spend most of your Saturday at some stranger's wedding."

So this is what it felt like to be on the verge of a decision. One step backwards and you're tumbling into an abyss; Naomi's only problem was she had no idea what was in store if she stepped forward. She was on the edge, the words 'no, I wouldn't' on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't say it. She took the word from her mouth and threw it into her mind instead, shoving back the part of herself that wanted to refuse this innocent opportunity to help a friend. _No_, she told that negative part of her mind. _Friends help each other. And Emily has been helping me so much. Well, her turn. _

"I'll go," she said instead. The silence from Emily's end made her anxious. "I mean, if you'd like me to. As long as you don't mind a date who will probably step on your feet dancing."

Still nothing. Naomi nervously moved her hand off of Emily's knee, but very abruptly Emily had pushed herself up on her elbows and their faces were much closer together than they were five seconds ago.

"Are you serious?" Emily asked excitedly. Her breath was hitting Naomi's face and Naomi bit her lip.

"Sure," she said as nonchalantly as she could. "It would be a boring Saturday without you anyway."

Emily leaned closer and kissed her cheek and when she pulled back she left a trail of goosebumps across every part of Naomi's skin she brushed against. Naomi twitched away a little bit from the sensation. What the fuck kind of reaction was _that_?

"Thanks Naoms," Emily said quietly. "You're the best."

Was it weird, the difference between Panda saying those exact words a few hours ago and Emily saying them now? Panda saying it made her feel good; Emily saying it made her believe she was.

"I – you're welcome," she stuttered. "No problem."

There was a beat where neither of them moved. Emily cleared her throat. "Um…I think we've done enough reading for now," and then she was moving farther away and standing up.

"What are you doing?" Naomi asked.

Emily laughed. "We've been studying for a while now," she said. The music on the radio turned up and then Emily's hands were on her arms, pulling her to her feet. "And I like this song."

"Emily," Naomi whined, stretching the last syllable out as long as she could. But she didn't fight her when Emily pulled her to the middle of her room and started pushing and pulling her arms, trying to get Naomi to move along to the music with her.

"_Skipping beats, blushing cheeks. I am struggling, daydreaming. Bed scenes in the corner café. And then I'm left in bits recovering tectonic tremblings. You get me every time." _

It was different from the last time they'd danced. The party had been full of people, and they'd been shoved close together, and the atmosphere had been heavy with the sound of loud music, and her head had been spinning with alcohol. Here Naomi's room was bright and airy and she could feel the warmth of the sun as it shone in through the windows and lit up the room.

"_Why'd ya have to be so cute? It's impossible to ignore you. Must you make me laugh so much? It's bad enough we get along so well. Say goodnight and go." _

They were dancing around to a cute little song, just the two of them in the empty space. And even if they weren't dancing as close together as they were at the party, it was a lot more light-hearted.

"_One of these days you'll miss your train and come stay with me (it's always say goodnight and go). We'll have drinks and talk about things, and any excuse to stay awake with you." _

And Naomi started laughing and smiling too, because Emily wasn't just making Naomi twist and move her body along to the music, she was adding her own dance moves. She was spinning and twirling and bouncing around, and it was just the cutest thing.

"_Why'd ya have to be so cute? It's impossible to ignore you. Must you make me laugh so much? It's bad enough we get along so well. Say goodnight and go." _

Naomi stopped dancing when Emily did as the other girl gasped out through her giggles, "Hello Gina!"

"Please don't let me interrupt you," Naomi's mum's voice came from the door leading into the hall.

Naomi felt a blush start to creep up her neck at the thought of her mother catching her dancing around and acting silly with Emily. "Need something?" she asked roughly, rubbing at the back of her neck in embarrassment.

"Dinner is in ten minutes," her mum said, and Naomi frowned as she cocked her head to the side and listened closely to her voice. It wasn't a sad tone of voice, in fact it was remarkably happy, and yet she thought she could hear an undercurrent of tears when her mother spoke. She couldn't make sense of it. What in the world could have just happened to make her mum want to cry? "Emily, would you like to stay?" the older woman continued while Naomi tried to work it out in her head.

"Sure!" Emily said brightly. "As long as Naomi doesn't mind."

"Nonsense, the more the merrier," Gina scoffed, and Naomi couldn't do anything but nod and agree.

* * *

><p>Dinner was hilarious, and not in a bad way. Emily told stories (edited ones, Naomi assumed) about the kind of antics that the gang got up to before Naomi had shown up at Roundview and by the time she got to Pandora's birthday party the whole table was in hysterics. Bear had apparently dubbed Emily his new favourite person in the world, possibly because she was the only one who fed him scraps, and spent the whole night at her feet.<p>

Naomi walked Emily to the door when dinner was over. "I think my mum wants to adopt you," she said dryly.

Emily burst into giggles and tried to muffle them. "Well as long as she doesn't mind a gay daughter I'm all for it. I get your room though."

"Hey!" Naomi reached over and tried to swat her but Emily dodged easily and Naomi huffed, crossing her arms and pouting. "My room," she said sulkily.

But she couldn't help but think how much happier Emily would be with a mother like Gina. Emily had said her mother had seen that she was wearing a shirt that said 'lez we can' and had nearly had a coronary. Gina had high-fived her. It made Naomi want to go hug her mother really quickly.

Emily hovered around the door area. "Did you know your house is only like five or six minutes away if I cut through some backyards?" she asked. "I think I can see your house from my roof."

"Are you on your roof often?" Naomi teased.

"Just because your mum would probably let you leave whenever you wanted doesn't mean the rest of us don't have to sneak out," Emily teased back. She poked Naomi in the shoulder and Naomi swatted her hand away.

There was that awkward moment that always happened when someone was about to leave, and neither party wanted to say goodbye. Naomi wanted desperately to give Emily a kiss on the cheek but the chances of missing were high and _that _would definitely embarrass her. Finally she held out her arms and hoped Emily understood what she wanted.

She did, because a second later Emily stepped into her arms willingly. Naomi wrapped her arms around Emily and tried to convey with her embrace what her tongue was too clumsy to get out: that a simple thank you could never convey how thankful she was for everything Emily had done for her. She didn't think there were enough favors in the world she could do to show Emily how grateful she was for all the changes the other girl had made in her life just over the past week, but suddenly the thought of going to the wedding with Emily filled her with excitement instead of anxiety. She hadn't thought of it before, but saying yes was the perfect way to pay Emily back just a little bit.

Hugging Emily only reiterated what she'd already felt dancing at the party. Emily _was _small, but it was a good small. Certainly not fragile or delicate. She was a pocket-sized bundle of energy and love, and Naomi was certain that there was no one else in the world like her, except maybe her twin.

Was that why there were two of them? Because the type of people they were couldn't possibly be contained in one body? And so the wonderfulness had to be split, had to be separated into two people who looked so alike and were so completely different, and even then it filled them both to the brim. Was that what made Emily Fitch so special?

It was weird how well Emily fit against her, though. Her arms were strong and snug around Naomi's torso and _fuck _she was warm and comfortable, and when she sighed and rested her head in a spot on Naomi's shoulder where she fit absurdly well, Naomi couldn't get over how good she smelled. A little like clean laundry and soap and some kind of citrusy shampoo. With her soothing presence enveloping Naomi as easily as her arms did, it made the thought of letting her go utterly idiotic. That was another wonderful thing about Emily, a thing that not even Naomi's mother had accomplished. It was so easy for Naomi to get anxious or startled, no matter how hard she tried not to, and Emily made those feelings go away just by being there.

It occurred to her that she was still holding Emily and she cleared her throat and let go. It was her imagination that said Emily lingered for just a bit after her arms fell. And if Naomi had accidentally extended the hug a moment too long, lost in her thoughts as she was, Emily didn't say anything.

Instead she just leaned up and pressed another kiss to Naomi's cheek, so quickly and lightly it felt more like the shadow of a kiss rather than the actual thing. Naomi had to stop herself from touching the spot on her cheek to check and make sure it even happened.

Emily stepped away fully and ruffled the fur on top of Bear's head when he bounced over to say goodbye too. "See you Naomi," she said quickly.

Naomi must have choked out a reasonable goodbye because she left, and then Naomi was leaning against the doorframe and her hand came up to touch her face anyway. She stayed there until she got her bearings and then raced upstairs to call Effy and ask what she should wear to a wedding.

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><p><strong>An: Holy words, Batman. Yeah I missed Naomi last chapter and so did Emily, so lots of Naomily here! Oh, also I'll probably put a link in my profile for the polyvore for this story. It's the funnest thing ever (shut up, funnest is a word, I'm an English major and I say it is). It's like playing mental dress-up with your favorite barbies. (PS: The song is "Goodnight and Go" by Imogen Heap) **

**Are you excited for the wedding? I'm excited for the wedding. Good parts? Bad parts? Great parts? Review and tell me what you thought! (OH that was just shameless of me. I am a shameless review whore). **

**Cheers ~FS**


	7. Chapter Seven: Emily

**A/n: Oh god if this 11,000 words a chapter thing is going to become the normal _I will actually die. _So first thing's first, a big hand to lizardwriter (oh look, liz is in my author's note again, I bet no one was expecting that [/sarcasm]) for nagging and encouraging and giving out ideas and SPENDING A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF TIME BETA'ING THIS. (I'm almost positive at one point she wanted to be like 'Really, Brit? 24 pages? Really?'). **

**Second: A moment of silence for my Medieval Romance homework, which sacrificed itself in order for this chapter to be written. **

**Third: I don't think you guys are aware of how much you make my day. Every new review just wants to make me hug you all and buy you boxes of kitten and puppies and propose group marriage (I'm sure it's legal somewhere). **

**Disclaimer: Nope. (Catch the Grey's Anatomy shout-out in this chapter and win a virtual cookie.) **

* * *

><p>"What do you think, Ems? These shoes with this dress?"<p>

Emily stopped fussing over herself in her mirror and turned to run an appraising eye over her sister. She wasn't sure how Katie managed to look classy and just a little slaggy at the same time, but if anyone could pull it off, it was Katie. Her bracelets, heart-shaped necklace, and hoop earrings were all silver and glittered with (fake) diamonds. Her dress was a muted purple that actually went really well with her hair, and, while it was stylishly cut and even had straps, the way it clung to her curves and the swooping neckline it possessed would have every male over the age of fifteen and not related to her drooling. She was holding up a pair of slinky black heels.

"I think Cook will have a hard time picking his jaw up off the floor," Emily said.

Katie preened a little and Emily took that as a sign that she could get back to doing her makeup.

"Hey Ems."

Emily finished putting the final touches on her eye shadow and spun around to glare at her sister. "_What _Katie?" She blinked in confusion as Katie took a picture with her mobile and shot her sister an odd look. "What was that?"

"Effy wanted a picture," Katie shrugged, tapping away on her phone.

Instead of trying to get the reason Effy wanted a picture out of Katie, which she was unlikely to be able to do anyway because the girl was a steel trap when she wanted to be, she went straight to the source.

**Why did you have my sister paparazzi a picture of me? **

She started putting her jewelry on while waiting for Effy to reply but she didn't have to wait long.

_**I can't describe what you're wearing to Naomi if I don't know what you're wearing. Contrary to popular belief I'm not psychic. **_

Emily rolled her eyes. Then the full impact of the text hit her and her fingers flew as she replied back.

**You're at Naomi's house? She wants to know what I'm wearing? **

She didn't even realize how that sounded until she had no way to take it back. The soft 'ping' of her message notification was already mortifying and she hadn't even read what Effy had responded with.

_**Why ask? Interested? **_

Emily blushed.

**No. Yes. Maybe. Fuck it, Effy. I hate you. **

She smoothed down her dress and sat on her bed, staring intently at her phone until the message notification went off again.

_**You didn't ask what she's wearing? I'm disappointed. The answer is: nothing. **_

**She's naked in the same room with you? Effy! **

Emily's hand clenched tightly to her phone as she was suddenly bombarded with mental images of naked Naomi, and try as she might she couldn't get them to go away. She was lucky Katie was fixing her hair in the bathroom or the blush that spread all the way across her neck and down her chest would have been a dead giveaway.

_**She's in the shower. Don't get stroppy with me just because you're picturing her naked now. **_

Fucking Elizabeth all-knowing fucking Stonem.

_Ping! _

_**And now you're probably picturing her in the shower too. **_

Well she _wasn't_ until Effy had to go and say something. She sighed.

**Why are you doing this to me? **

If she was speaking out loud she would be whining and as it was she threw herself backwards onto her bed and groaned, careful not to mess up her clothes. She'd just spent the last hour getting dressed; she didn't need to do it twice.

_**Punishment. **_

**For what? **

Effy couldn't see the indignant glare that Emily was throwing at her phone right now but she sincerely hoped the brunette girl could feel it.

_**Naomi told me how you invited her. This is for being so passive aggressive when you asked her to go with you. **_

Emily warred with herself between feeling happy that Naomi was talking about her with Effy and annoyed that Effy was being a twat. Annoyed won…barely.

**I was not being passive aggressive! **

_**There is a land called Passive Aggressiva and you are its Queen.**_

**I'm done talking to you. **

_**But then you wouldn't know that Naomi just stepped out in a towel. **_

Emily shrieked in frustration and threw her phone across the room. It bounced harmlessly against Katie's pillow, which was anticlimactic to say the least. Katie walked back in and looked at her like she had three heads.

"The fuck was that all about?" she asked.

"Nothing!" Emily stalked across the room and grabbed her phone before taking her turn doing her hair in the bathroom. It sat harmlessly on the counter, making no noise and generally being the inanimate object that it was, for at least fifteen minutes. She was halfway through straightening her hair when she heard her text message notification go off again and she almost smacked her phone with the straightener out of sheer annoyance.

She ignored two more texts until Katie poked her head into the bathroom.

"Effy says unless you're actively getting yourself off you should stop ignoring her and answer your phone," her sister relayed with a disgusted curl of her lip.

Emily blushed so bright red it was difficult to discern where her face stopped and her hair began. She shoved Katie out of the bathroom and closed the door firmly behind her. She snatched her phone immediately and didn't even check the missed texts from Effy before she shot off: **You are unbelievable. **

Then she went back and checked the ones she ignored.

_**(1) And now she's changing. Naomi has nice legs. Although I'm sure you know that already. (2) You're ignoring me aren't you? (3) Oh Emily. You severely underestimate the lengths I will go to to torture you. **_

Just as she finished reading through those (and getting more annoyed as she went on) she got a fourth one, a response from Effy to the text she had sent out.

_**Not unbelievable, just improbable. **_

**Well I'm im-probably going to smack you the next time I see you. **

_**Resorting to puns, Ems? Weak. **_

Emily actually growled out loud. The sound reverberated in the small bathroom.

**This is not serving any kind of purpose, **she texted, hoping Effy would either get to her point or leave her alone (conveniently forgetting that _she _had been the one to text Effy first). **Except for working me up. **

_**But Ems you know how much I love to see you get worked up ;) See you when you come to grab your girl. Bring a flower. **_

Emily frowned at her phone. **She's not my girl. Why a flower? **

She had finished straightening her hair and added the final touches to her makeup before she realized Effy hadn't ever texted her back.

**Effy? **

Nothing.

**Now who's ignoring who? **

Still no answer.

**I hate you. **

She was halfway to her room before her notification pinged again.

_**You already said that. Bring the flower and make it a white one. Now shut up and go make sure your sister remembers to call Cook. **_

A pause, then another _ping! _

_**PS: you look nice. **_

Emily rolled her eyes affectionately and looked up from her phone to see Katie sitting on her bed and fixing her nails. "Don't forget to make sure Cook remembers what time we're picking up Naomi," she reminded her dutifully. The way Katie's eyes widened and her hand shot out to grab her phone told Emily that her sister had definitely forgotten to do that.

"I'm supposed to tell you that you look nice," Katie said when she put her phone away a few minutes later. "But I would have said it anyway. Seriously, Ems, Naomi is blind if she doesn't think you look gorgeous in that dress."

Emily just turned and _looked _at her sister until Katie seemed to realize what just came out of her mouth. Her face went so red that Emily started to seriously worry about whether there was any blood left in Katie's body that hadn't traveled to her face.

"Do you actually hear yourself speak?" she teased gently. "Or is it just a buzzing sound in your ears?"

The familiarity of her sister taunting her knocked Katie out of whatever embarrassed paralysis she'd locked herself into and she scowled at Emily as her face slowly returned to a more normal color.

"Oh shut up," she mumbled.

Emily laughed. "It's okay, Katie. You didn't say it in front of her, right?"

Katie shrugged but her face was relieved when it looked like Emily wasn't mad at her.

While Katie started messing around with her phone again, Emily studied herself in the full-length mirror her twin had propped up in her corner of their room. Where Katie had gone with purple, Emily's dress was a dusky blue-grey. It was made of lighter stuff than Katie's heavy and rich fabric and it was strapless, the hem falling to just above her knees. The top half of the dress was embroidered with a silver, gold, and bronze leaves and feather motif. She'd stolen a pair of Katie's heels and Panda (who had a surprising eye for fashion that she never used when she dressed herself) had shown up at college on Friday with a pair of gold-bronze feather earrings, a gold-bronze necklace with a coin pendant, and an ecstatic smile.

"Stop fussing, you look great," Katie said without looking up from the copy of _Heat _she was flicking through now.

"I'm not fussing," Emily said, and she quickly put her hands down by her sides before Katie could catch her smoothing down the front of dress nervously. "What time is Cook going to be here?"

Just as she asked that a car honked outside. Katie sat bolt upright and looked outside, waving at the car that had just pulled up. "Now!" she said with a grin. Katie grabbed her bag but Emily took a moment to watch her sister before she followed.

Katie had a sparkle in her eye and a swing in her step that she hadn't seen in a while. Last year Emily had gone off the rails, but Katie had been dealt the most devastating blow. Being told at seventeen that you'd probably never have kids? Just because she didn't want them now didn't mean she didn't want them _ever_, and Emily knew how many of her sister's dreams had gone down the drain with that diagnosis. That was why they'd gone to the doctor's together earlier in the week: annual checkups for the both of them, with special emphasis on Emily just in case she showed the same genetic inclination as her twin.

But now that bright smile was back, not tempered by grief, and Emily couldn't be happier. She'd missed the old version of Katie that had disappeared and was only just now starting to return. And Cook's interest definitely had something to do with bringing old Katie back, so it fell to Emily to threaten him to within an inch of his life. She loved the boy, he was like a brother to her, and she knew he loved his friends more than anything in the world, but if he was just playing fast and loose with her sister because he was after a good shag, she'd rip his balls off and toss them to an angry Doberman.

By the time Emily grabbed her jacket and her bag and made it downstairs Katie was straightening their dad's tie for him in the front hall.

"Look at you two," he said when he saw Emily at the bottom of the stairs. He beamed at both of them and gathered them in for a (very careful) Fitch hug. "My girls. Now this Cook character, have I met him before?"

"Yes Dad," Katie said with an exasperated eye roll and a shared smirk with Emily. "You asked him if he worked out because he had good upper body definition." The look in Katie's eyes suggested she'd noticed Cook's upper body definition as well, but their Dad was wonderfully oblivious to that.

Rob Fitch frowned for a long moment before he connected the memory to Cook and his face lit up. "Oh! That lad. Seems like a nice boy. And Emsy, what about this Naomi girl? Have I met her before?"

Emily blushed and cleared her throat. "No. She's a new friend."

For being so oblivious about some things he was remarkably observant about others. "Just a friend?" he asked with a little smile.

The blush intensified. "Just a friend," she repeated firmly.

"If you say so."

Emily was literally saved by the bell. She flung the door open hurriedly and wondered who had dressed Cook, because he was looking pretty sharp himself. Black shoes, khaki slacks, a nice crisp white button-up, and a silver tie that would match Katie's jewelry. Okay, someone definitely dressed him. Cook would not think of matching his tie to her accessories. She saw the white rose in his hands and knew instantly who had whipped Cook into Katie's perfect date material.

Effy Stonem was the fairy fucking godmother of Bristol. Honestly.

Cook and their dad did that whole male bonding ritual where they pretended to shake hands and actually tried to crush the life out of their opponent, and Emily noted that their mother was nowhere to be seen. She'd been less than pleased when Emily had announced that Naomi agreed to be her date to the wedding, and even more so when Katie had defiantly added that she'd already asked Cook too. But if just pretending they didn't exist was her only reaction tonight then Emily could deal with it.

With a final warning to be careful driving around his precious girls and that they'd meet them at the church, Rob let them go, and Cook muscled in front of them so he could bow extravagantly and pretend to usher them outside. Katie giggled, charmed, and even Emily had to smile.

"Katiekins, you're up front with me," he said with loaded formality, opening the door to the shiny car his mother had let him borrow for the night (or rather the car she probably didn't even know was out of the garage, if Emily knew Cook). He handed her into the car and then did the same with Emily. "Emilio, you're in the back. Soon to be joined by your lovely lady," he waggled his eyebrows at her.

"She's not my lady!" Emily protested automatically, but Cook shut the door before she got the whole sentence out and he pretended not to hear.

_Wanker. _

* * *

><p>It was only a hop and a skip to Naomi's, and she was fine the whole way, but the minute they parked outside that yellow house she got abruptly and unaccountably nervous. There was absolutely no reason for it. It was just Naomi.<p>

_Just Naomi. Right. Just gorgeous and smart and funny and snarky and adorable Naomi. Just the girl who makes your heart beat right out of your chest every time she smiles. Just the girl you hugged for thirty seconds and never wanted to let go. Nothing special about her at all. Obviously. _

Cook made them stay in the car while he opened doors for them again (she had a feeling he was acting under orders) and while she laughed at his antics it didn't quite reach her eyes. God, she was so nervous. She thought her hands might have been shaking when she rang the doorbell. The only thing that calmed her down a little bit was Bear's booming barks from the other side.

She loved that dog. She'd loved his big goofy face from the moment she'd seen him lying down at Naomi's feet and she loved that he liked using her as a pillow, even if that did occasionally mean she suffocated under a pile of fur. He reminded her of that dog from that Pixar movie, with his big eyes that looked up at you and seemed to say _'I have just met you and I love you'. _

Gina was fending him off with one arm as she opened the door with the other. "Don't you fucking dare," she scolded him as she added one of her legs into the equation to keep him back. "These kids all look gorgeous and you're not getting your ridiculous slobber all over their nice clothes. Naomi! Control your dog!"

"Bear!" Emily's heart took off at the speed of light when Naomi shouted from upstairs. "Sit! Now!"

Bear sat the minute he heard Naomi's voice but he didn't look happy about it. He kept whining a little and every once in a while he would scoot the tiniest bit closer to Emily like maybe if he moved in small enough increments nobody would notice until he was close enough to say hi to her.

Gina swept some hair out of her face and turned to Emily with a warm smile and open arms. "Hello Emily, love," she said as she wrapped the redhead up in a big hug. Emily smiled into Gina's shoulder; _this_ was what a mum's hug was supposed to feel like. "It's so nice to see you again." She let her go and stepped back to get a good look at the other people in her house. "And you must be Katie and Cook! It's so nice to meet both of you."

Effy came downstairs while Gina fawned perfectly over Katie and Cook ("You look absolutely stunning, Katie, dear," and "What a perfect bad-boy vibe, I can see why Katie likes you," with a wink at both of them, honestly the woman should have been a politician the way she was winning over the two of them) and she smirked at Emily.

"Busy day?" Emily asked dryly, flicking her eyes over to Cook's clothes and then up the stairs so Effy would know what she meant, although she probably would have anyway.

Effy shrugged. "I had a free morning," she said nonchalantly. "Forget your flower?"

"No," Emily held up the white rose in her hand. She could honestly say she hadn't been surprised to see two more roses sitting in the car when Cook started to drive, not after he winked at her and made a zipping motion across his lips. Katie's was still held in her hands but Emily had already snapped the stem in half and put hers behind her ear. The one in her hands was for Naomi, whenever she decided to come down. And Emily wished she would decide soon before she broke apart at the seams with nerves.

"Nervous?" Effy asked.

"Shut up, Effy," Emily said tightly.

Effy's smirk grew. "Would it help if I told you about the freckle on Naomi's lower back?"

"I know where you sleep, Stonem."

What happened next was surreal even for Emily. She thought it only happened in those ridiculously cheesy teenage movies: the slow motion descent down the stairs, the date standing at the bottom with a stunned expression. But no, her world came rushing down around her ears the second she saw Naomi's foot hit the top step.

And no, she didn't slowly glide down the steps, she actually ran down them shouting at her mum about where she put her earrings, but to Emily it happened in slow motion.

Her first thought was –

Well, she didn't actually have a first thought. Naomi knocked all of them out of her. Along with her breath and her ability to make any sort of noise beyond a tiny little "oh" that somehow managed to get past her mental filters and out her mouth, but was thankfully too soft for anyone but maybe Effy to hear.

But her second thought was: if such things as angels existed, they had to be modeled after Naomi Campbell.

Soft grey boots (not high heels, which was a damn shame, but Emily could understand why Naomi would want to keep her feet firmly on the ground) that stopped mid-calf and led up to legs. Long, gorgeous, smooth legs that had never looked better than in that moment. Not that Emily had spent an inordinate amount of time looking at her legs or something. Her halter-top sundress was light blue. That was a good choice – a glorious choice, even. A choice of dresses made by the gods themselves.

Only Naomi's face coming into view drew Emily's eyes away from the sheer amount of skin on display (the curve of her arms, the line of her neck, her collarbones, and the cleavage that _she should absolutely not be staring at with this many other people in the room_). Her hair was pulled up in a bun, with a few artful wisps curling out around her ears, plus some at the back of her neck that seemingly refused to obey. And her eyes –

How had Emily never noticed that she had bits of green in them before? Not much, granted, but they were there; and if her eyes had been a bright blue before, with the swirls of green and blue in the dress, the color was incandescent.

Katie elbowed her in the stomach and it reminded Emily that oxygen was an important bodily resource.

"Naoms, you – wow, I – I mean, you –"

Emily had never, not once, not in her whole history of experience with the fairer sex, been struck speechless by a girl. She was always the one with the quick line, or, if that failed, at the very least she'd tell the girl how attractive she was. She'd taken to complimenting girls like a duck to water, so it was just something she'd never experienced before.

Except right there with Naomi. Because she couldn't use a line; Naomi was worth more than lines. And she couldn't think of any other words, because they simply didn't exist and she lacked the ability to dream them into life.

Maybe one day someone will think up the words to describe the feeling you get when you see someone you love. But probably not.

"Is that good or bad?" Naomi asked when Emily trailed off because she couldn't physically finish her sentence.

"I already told you that you look gorgeous," Effy said.

Finally Emily's brain remembered it could produce coherent sentences and offered one up to cover her earlier stuttering mess.

"Naomi you look stunning," she said with more sincerity than she'd ever said anything in her entire life.

The tips of Naomi's ears turned bright red but she smiled happily; a smile Emily returned on pure instinct. Meanwhile out of the corner of her eye Emily caught Gina watcher her intently. Her smile faded more the longer Gina looked at her, until the warm fuzzy feelings she was experiencing in reaction to the smile turned into panic when a look of dawning realization spread slowly over the older woman's face.

Shit. Fuck. She'd been way too obvious. She couldn't help it, her heart was always written all over her fucking face when she looked at Naomi. It was why Mandy reacted the way she did at the party. And it was why Effy was smirking knowingly at her, and Katie looked exasperated, and Cook's grin threatened to crack his jaw.

Gina had just borne witness to the Naomi Look. It was apparently the way she looked at Naomi whenever she forgot to keep a handle on her emotions (usually when Naomi did something randomly cute and she wasn't mentally prepared). And according to Katie it was "just fucking ridiculous". There was no hiding the Naomi Look, and Emily had no doubt Gina had just seen the most powerful Naomi Look to date.

_Well, fuck. _

Emily had the violent urge to smack herself repeatedly in the forehead until she blacked out, or somehow entered a time-space loop that allowed her to turn back time and relive the last few moments. And not just because she'd get to see Naomi walk down the stairs again.

No, wait. Bad thoughts.

_Jesus Christ, Emily. Way to get caught blatantly eye-fucking her daughter. The only way you could be more obvious is if you threw Naomi against the wall and – _

No! Those were bad thoughts too. Really, really nice bad thoughts. Oh fucking hell.

Gina stopped trying to stare into Emily's soul (thank God) and instead smiled widely as she grabbed a rather expensive-looking camera from the table in the hall Naomi was always complaining about bumping into.

"Picture time!" she said excitedly.

"Mum! They don't want to take pictures," Naomi groaned and ducked her head.

And that's when Emily noticed that even though Naomi clearly knew that Cook and Katie were in the room too, she kept her glasses off. They were still in her hand, but she didn't feel the need to cover her eyes just yet. Based on her _way too frequent _observations of Naomi (also known as staring), she knew that whenever Naomi felt vulnerable or uncomfortable she covered her eyes. So she was comfortable keeping them off for now, she was comfortable with the people in the room. Around her friends.

Emily smiled to herself.

"Naomi don't you dare deprive me of this," Gina said, shaking her finger at her daughter.

Naomi sighed but didn't protest again and Gina let Effy set the controls on the camera. Emily was so focused on watching Gina for any kind of sign at all, that she missed when Naomi walked over to her until she was right there asking, "Em?" and holding out her arm.

Emily linked their arms and gently pulled Naomi closer. "What's the matter, Naoms?" she asked, trying desperately to get herself back to a place where she wasn't falling over herself for Naomi. She was only marginally successful. "Not very photogenic?"

"Pictures don't really do it for me," Naomi replied. She nudged Emily in the side in a way that told her she was teasing.

"Well, I want one," Emily said firmly. She tightened her hand on Naomi's arm. "So I request politely that you suck it up."

"Since you put it so nicely…"

They both dissolved into giggles, watched by an amused Effy. Gina made them all stand together, including Effy despite her protests, and then split by dates.

Emily was watching when Cook made Katie laugh, and there was a moment he just _looked _at her. And that's when she knew that no angry Doberman would be necessary. Cook was looking at Katie the way he used to look at Effy back when the group was just starting. The two of them had fucked, she didn't know if she'd call it dating per se, and along the way they'd both fallen a little in love with each other. But, while they brought out the best in each other, they brought out the worst too, and when it all fell apart, Emily thought the group might too.

Their bonds were stronger than that, though. It was rough at first, but now they were both back to a good place. Emily thought the two of them were probably better friends than most people realized.

And now Cook was looking at her sister like her smile was magical (it was, and she was glad Cook realized that).

She caught Effy's eye across the room and her friend winked at her. Did that girl know everything? How was it that she knew _everything_?

"What happened there?" Naomi asked while Gina clicked away at Katie and Cook. "You went quiet on me."

"Cook and my sister," Emily said. "They're good together."

"Ten quid says they hook up tonight," Naomi said with a cheeky grin.

"Eww!" Emily shoved her away and Naomi laughed as she moved back immediately and linked their arms again. "That's my sister. And Cook, who is like my brother. I don't ever want those mental images again."

"Quit giggling and get over here, you two," Gina ordered.

Emily dragged Naomi over to where Gina pointed and Naomi moaned and groaned but followed along, making Emily smile at her grumpiness. They took a few pictures with their arms linked and one with one arm around each other's waist. Gina stalled when a technical difficulty happened with the camera and while she and Effy fussed over it Emily remembered she still had something for Naomi.

"Oh!" she said. "I almost forgot. Here, this is for you." She took a quick moment to check and make sure the rose was free of thorns before she place it in Naomi's hand.

Naomi's face was well worth whatever Effy paid for the rose as she brought up the flower and smelled the blossom, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she inhaled the scent.

"You got me a flower?" she asked quietly.

Emily almost wanted to correct her that technically Effy had gotten the flower, but instead she just tried to keep herself from blushing again and said, "I have one too. I wanted us to match. It's a white rose. "

"I know what a rose smells like, Ems," Naomi said, but she brought the flower back up to smell it again anyway.

"Ah-ha!" Gina exclaimed, apparently fixing the problem. "Back the way you were please."

They stood side by side, each with one arm looped around the other's waist, while Gina counted down to the flash. But just as she told them to smile Naomi very quickly slipped both arms around Emily's waist and kissed her cheek instead. Emily glowed.

She let go almost as soon as the shutter went off and Emily's body buzzed all over when her hand trailed across Emily's waist. She was sure Naomi wasn't even aware she was doing it, that she was probably just a very tactile person with the people she was comfortable with, but even just the thought that Naomi was comfortable enough with her to touch her made her feel light-headed.

It was all very confusing.

Gina looked at the screen of the digital camera for a long moment before she said, "I like that one best."

Emily was pretty sure she liked that one best too.

* * *

><p>The church was old and beautiful, and had a large front courtyard where everyone mingled and talked to the bride and groom after the ceremony while they waited for the limo to pull back around. Emily got to talk to some Fitch family relatives that she hadn't spoken to in a while and it was nice. Her father's family had always been her favorite people; they were always loud and fun, and she had an older cousin named Devin who had already come out to the family by the time she'd discovered herself, so when she told her family, he'd literally flown across the room and hugged her, yelling "Yes! Another one!" and doing a happy dance that had the whole room in hysterics. He was one of her favorite cousins.<p>

Speak of the devil...Devin spotted her just as she was thinking about him and he grabbed his partner by the hand and dragged the boy over to meet her.

"Emily!" he pulled her into a big, warm hug and quickly backed up so he could look her over appraisingly. He nodded in approval. "Gorgeous," he declared. "Absolutely gorgeous. Loving the blue."

"Thanks Dev," Emily pulled him in for another hug and turned to smile at his attractive date. The boy was lithe and muscular and very handsome, with bright eyes, a warm smile, and messy blonde hair that swooshed a little over his forehead. "And who's this?"

Devin's grin grew to epic proportions and he tugged the boy forward by the hand. "Emily this is my boyfriend, Maxxie. Max, this is my favorite little cousin Emily. She's a baby gay."

"It's nice to meet you, baby gay Emily," Maxxie said with a cheeky smile. His hand was warm and his voice friendly when he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"You too," Emily smiled at him. She quite liked this Maxxie character and he seemed to make her cousin very happy. She hoped he'd stick around.

"Now," Devin said boisterously, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "We've met Katie's scrumptious piece of arm candy for today, but where on Earth is your date? And don't tell me you don't have one."

"I have one," Emily said. She saw Devin's eyebrows shoot up at the smile on her face when she thought about Naomi and she cursed internally. The fucking Naomi Look again. "She's talking with Alice."

She turned her head over to the bench underneath one of the willow trees where Naomi had been sitting for the last ten minutes or so talking with another one of her cousins. Alice was four months pregnant and needed to sit down often, and Naomi had been feeling a bit overwhelmed by the crowd and wanted to sit away for a bit. The two had inexplicably bonded over that, which had amused Emily to no end.

And _God_, she just really loved her family right now, because not one of them had mentioned anything about Naomi being blind. She didn't know if maybe Katie had done some family networking and warned everybody beforehand (which she wouldn't put past her sister at all), but only one person had even referenced it and he'd quickly been shut down by Emily's grandmother.

"Oh dear Lord in heaven," Devin breathed next to her. "I've found my heterosexuality."

Emily dug her elbow into his side.

"Hey!" he pouted at her and rubbed his ribs. "I was complimenting your date. What's with the violence?"

"You were perving on my date," Emily scowled at him.

"Is it possible to perve on someone of the opposite sex if you're gay?"

"Yes," Emily and Maxxie said at the same time. They shared a grin.

Devin and Maxxie started to playfully bicker with each other but Emily wasn't even listening to them anymore. She'd tuned them out because every single one of her senses were focusing on Naomi and what she had just seen happen. Alice had been sitting and talking to Naomi, and bouncing her eight-month-old son (and Emily's favorite baby cousin) on her lap. The baby had been happy to let his mother talk to this new person as long as he got bounced. But then Alice had put her hand on her lower stomach and grimaced, before she said something to Naomi and then handed the baby to her and went in search of, Emily assumed, the toilets.

Emily took a few rapid steps forward as Naomi fumbled the little boy just a bit, but by the time she was within earshot he had settled into Naomi's arms. Naomi's mouth was in an 'o' as she held him. It made Emily wonder if she'd ever held a baby before.

"Oh," Naomi said softly. Emily's heart melted a little bit at the way Naomi was holding the baby like he would break if she clutched him too tightly. "Hello. You're very small."

Had her heart melted a little bit before? Because there was now a big puddle of Emily-heart on the floor, melted and liquefied by the soft way that Naomi was talking to her baby cousin. Emily stifled a giggle when he reached up and grabbed at Naomi's glasses, pulling them off her eyes. Those gorgeous blue eyes widened in surprise and fear and Emily took a few steps forward again, but then Naomi calmed down and smiled at him.

"I guess you can play with those," she said while he gurgled and tried to put one end of the glasses into his mouth. "So you're Emily's cousin? You know that makes you related to the greatest person ever, right?"

The baby had forgotten all about her glasses when he looked up into Naomi's face and now he smiled and reached up for her as she talked to him. Emily knew that she should walk away, that Naomi thought this moment was just with the baby, but she couldn't move. Not with the sweet way Naomi was talking to the baby like he could hear her and understand, and especially not when she made a silly face at him.

In your life there are certain moments that come along. Moments when you know that the person you just met or the thing that just occurred was one of the most important things to happen in your life, something that could change your entire existence. Emily was having one of those moments now.

A little less than three weeks. That's how long she'd known Naomi. And she'd known for almost all of that time without a shadow of a doubt that she was at least a little bit in love with her. But it wasn't until that moment that she realized just how thoroughly she had fallen for Naomi. This didn't feel like being in love anymore. This felt like a tectonic shift in her soul. This felt big, and deep; this felt like a point where she couldn't turn back, something that would mark the entire surface of her heart. And it didn't even take some sort of epic confession of love, but rather just Naomi sitting on a bench, holding and talking to her baby cousin, and making goofy faces so he would giggle.

She was done. No one that came before had ever touched her heart the way Naomi Campbell did, and even if one day she found someone and moved on, she highly doubted anyone who came after would be able to get close enough to do it again. Naomi had just ruined her for all other women.

She should have been angry or afraid, but she couldn't help but smile. She backed up a few steps and then walked over more noisily. Naomi's face shot up towards her, her eyes narrowed and guarded.

"I see you've made a new friend," Emily said brightly, like her entire world didn't just change shape.

Naomi's face relaxed and she smiled at Emily. "He's a better date than you are," she teased.

Emily laughed and looked down at the baby. "Really, Chase?" she mock-scolded. "Not even a year old and already stealing my dates?" She tickled his foot to get his attention but he was absolutely enamored with Naomi. He refused to take his eyes off her face to even glance at Emily, who up until that point had been his favorite person besides his mum. It looked like her position had been usurped, but she didn't mind.

If Naomi was smiling at her like that, she wouldn't be able to look away either.

"Well, well," Devin said in her ear, and Emily jumped. She been so wrapped up in Naomi she hadn't even noticed that he and Maxxie had followed her over. "This is interesting. Looks like I'm not the only person in the family falling in love with a blonde. Aren't you going to introduce us to your girlfriend, Emily?"

"She's not my –" but once again she was interrupted, this time by Katie who hurried over and scooped Chase out of Naomi's arms. Naomi stuck her bottom lip out and pouted at the loss of her new buddy, and it was so adorable Emily wanted to kiss the pout right off her face.

It was always nice to watch Katie play with Chase. He adored her just as much as she adored him, so while he fussed a little bit at being taken away from Naomi, pretty soon he was smiling up at her too. She bounced him around in her arms and he giggled like it was the greatest thing in the world. Cook wandered over and peered at the baby over Katie's shoulder. He wiggled his finger in Chase's face and the baby reached up and grabbed onto it, gripping tightly.

Jesus Christ, if it got any cuter over here Emily was just going to have to walk away because she wouldn't be able to take it.

Luckily the explosion of cute was interrupted by Alice coming back over and stopping when she saw the group of people standing around her kid. "What's all this?" she demanded.

"Katie stole him from us," Emily joked, not even realizing she'd grouped her and Naomi into an 'us'.

"She can keep him," Alice said. "Especially since that's the face he usually gets when he needs to get his diaper changed."

Everyone laughed when Katie handed him back very quickly.

* * *

><p>Emily wondered if the ability to make a dinner awkward was some sort of superpower that her mother possessed, or if she worked really hard to perfect it as well as she had. It wasn't even that the rest of the table was having trouble finding topics of conversation: Katie and Naomi had somehow found common ground in a song they'd both heard on the radio and hated, and Cook and her father were talking very fast and very technically about the Manchester United football game that had been on the other day.<p>

It was Emily who was having trouble. She didn't want to barge in on her sister and Naomi actually getting along, and she couldn't even begin to keep up with Cook and her Dad. Every time she would open her mouth to try and talk civilly to her mother, Jenna would very pointedly put a piece of food in her mouth and chew. After the third time this happened Emily got the message: _You disobeyed my wishes. I'd rather not even speak to you tonight. _

Emily sighed and concentrated on her own food. She almost choked on her chicken when she felt Naomi's hand run down her spine and settle on her lower back. She knew it was just Naomi's way of making sure Emily knew she was right there, but the innocent gesture still made her shiver a little.

Almost as soon as the shiver ended Naomi was holding her sweater out to Emily with a little smile, and Emily sort of felt like bursting into tears. Naomi heard her sigh and made sure Emily knew she was right there; Naomi felt her shiver and handed Emily her sweater. This girl was heartbreakingly perfect.

_Well that's what you get for falling in love with your best friend_, a little voice in the back of Emily's mind whispered. When she looked up across the room Devin was watching her with a strange look on his face, and when he saw that he was caught, he smiled and winked at her. Emily frowned back.

She was distracted by the clinking of glasses and everyone looked up at the main table as Amanda and her new husband, David, made their speeches. Then of course there was the Maid of Honor (Amanda's sister), who made everyone cry, and the Best Man (David's best friend), who made everyone laugh.

Naomi scooted her chair closer to Emily when he was wrapping up his speech so she could lean over and whisper, "I like him. He's funny."

The stab of jealousy that hit Emily right in the stomach was enough to knock the breath out of her for a second. She knew that Naomi hadn't even meant it like that, but Naomi's giggles and the attractiveness of David's best friend were enough to upset her. She tried not to show it because her mother was right there and watching them like a hawk (Emily assumed for any sign of weakness), so instead she just said, "He is."

But then Naomi made everything better again when she reached back and grabbed Emily's hand while Amanda and David had their first dance.

Other people were doing this, including Cook who had his arm around Katie while she leaned into his side, but her mother hissed at Emily under her breath and shook her head a little when Emily looked over at her. Emily frowned and responded by wrapping her arm around Naomi's waist and pulling her back a little bit in her chair.

Naomi seemed to know what was going on immediately because she asked, "Your mum?" under her breath and when Emily nodded Naomi leaned back into her more obviously.

Emily put her chin on Naomi's shoulder and said, "Thank you."

"Always," Naomi said back. "You know that."

She did. Naomi was a good friend like that.

* * *

><p>"Hey Naoms," Emily said. When Naomi looked over she reached up her finger and smooshed frosting onto the tip of Naomi's nose.<p>

Naomi's face scrunched up and she pulled backwards. "Brat!" she accused.

Emily dissolved into giggles as Naomi grabbed her napkin and wiped at her face. "You missed a spot," she said.

"I wonder why," Naomi rolled her eyes. "It might be because I can't see what I'm doing."

"Oh don't be stroppy," Emily teased. "Here, stay still, let me help." She'd already had a few glasses of champagne and so had Naomi, so they were both giggly when Emily cupped her face and wiped the rest of the frosting off with her thumb. She ran her fingers across the bridge of Naomi's nose and they stopped as she got to the top of her lips.

The urge was there and it was so strong; to simply pull Naomi forward and kiss her, taste the frosting on her lips. Instead she dropped her hands away from Naomi's face and grabbed her hand instead, pulling her up towards the dance floor.

"_I'm hooked on a feeling, I'm high on believing, that you're in love with me." _

Cook and Katie cheered as they joined them (Cook and Katie had had a few more glasses of champagne than they did) and when Katie grabbed Emily and pulled her into a dance, Cook did the same with Naomi.

"You really like her," Katie giggled in her ear as they twirled around together.

"She's my friend," Emily repeated for what felt like the millionth time that night.

"It's more than that," Katie declared. Emily wanted to shush her, but shushing Katie at any time is difficult and shushing a tipsy Katie was damn near impossible. "You look at her different. You look at her like she's your whole world."

"Katie, I – "

"Seriously Ems, Effy told me something the other day. When you know you fucking know, okay? So just, like, I don't know, fucking do something about it."

"I won't lose her," Emily said quietly. She wasn't even saying it to Katie, because Katie was now humming happily along to the song in her ear. "I can't."

"It's okay, Ems," Katie patted her on the top of the head and Emily rolled her eyes. "It's gonna be okay."

The song stopped and another one picked up. Slower and sweeter, a little bittersweet, actually, and kind of sad. All it started off with was a piano. Emily liked it.

"_When the rain is blowing in your face, and the whole world is on your case, I could offer you a warm embrace, to make you feel my love." _

Emily felt a tap on her shoulder and she smiled at Cook as he grinned lazily at her. "Gonna cut in now, Emilio," he said, holding his hand out to Katie. She passed her sister off and smiled wider when Cook immediately spun her in his arms, much to Katie's obvious delight.

She turned around and her heart thudded painfully, because Naomi was just standing there with her hands held out for her. It would be a little like torture to dance so close to Naomi, but it was the sweetest kind of torture she could think of. She took Naomi's hands and brought them down to her waist, before she hooked her arms around the back of Naomi's neck and they swayed together.

"_When the evening shadows and the stars appear, and there is no one there to dry your tears, I could hold you for a million years, to make you feel my love."_

"How have you liked the wedding so far?" she asked.

She felt Naomi's smile more than she actually saw it. It was like a warmth she could feel emanating from the girl in her arms. She wondered if that was how Naomi knew when she smiled too. "I met your cousin in the toilets earlier."

"Alice?" Emily blurted out, confused.

"The bride," Naomi corrected. "Amanda."

"Oh."

"_I know you haven't made your mind up yet, but I would never do you wrong. I've known it from the moment that we met, no doubt in my mind where you belong." _

"I liked her," Naomi continued. She leaned a little bit more into Emily, her arms tightening around her waist, and Emily's heart rate skyrocketed, which she prayed Naomi couldn't feel. "She said she liked my dress, and I told her that I couldn't return the compliment, but that the way you described it to me made it sound gorgeous, and that her speech was beautiful and I liked her voice."

"You liked her voice?"

"She sounds like she's in love," Naomi said. "They both do. I like that."

"_I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue. I'd go crawling down the avenue. No there's nothing that I wouldn't do, to make you feel my love." _

Emily's grip on the back of Naomi's neck tightened almost imperceptibly. She tried to relax her hands and played with the curls that were escaping from the back of Naomi's bun instead. The rose had been stuck in Naomi's hair and every once in a while her fingers brushed the stem, remembering the look on Naomi's face when she gave it to her.

"You can tell that?" she asked.

"_The storms are raging on the rolling sea, and on the highway of regret. Though winds of change are blowing wild and free, you ain't seen nothing like me yet."_

"Usually," Naomi shrugged a little, careful not to displace Emily's arms.

God, Emily really hoped she couldn't.

"You're having fun too, right?" Naomi asked. She turned them around in a tight circle, so quickly that Emily's hair spun out a little behind her, and she had to giggle because for all that Naomi said she was going to step on her feet she was actually a great dancer.

"I'm having a good time," Emily assured softly, so low she wasn't even sure if Naomi could hear it (because she wasn't sure if she was saying it to convince Naomi or herself). "A really good time."

"_I could make you happy make your dreams come true, nothing that I wouldn't do, go to the ends of the earth for you, to make you feel my love." _

The song ended and the room exploded into applause and cheers when all the groomsmen grabbed David and pulled him into the middle of the floor to do some sort of dance routine they'd made up. Naomi tensed in her arms and Emily looked up, automatically on the alert.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing," Naomi responded immediately, but her voice was tight and the grip she had on Emily's hips was almost painful.

Emily knew what was happening as soon as she tried to brush it off; she had to be feeling sort of overwhelmed again, but she wouldn't say anything because she probably thought it would ruin Emily's good time. Well, Naomi panicking and not saying anything would definitely ruin Emily's good time.

"I need some air," she announced suddenly, and Naomi's head snapped over towards her. "Come for a walk with me?"

Naomi nodded and let Emily lead her out the side door of the reception hall and into the garden. It was a beautifully sculpted outside space, with lots of trees and flowers and a white cobblestone path lit up with fairy lights. Emily didn't ask if something was the matter, because she knew it would only embarrass Naomi, so instead she just walked around hand in hand with her, describing the garden as best she could. Every once in a while she would squeeze Naomi's hand, and Naomi would squeeze back.

Finally she sat down on one of the benches and she pulled off her heels, wiggling her toes in the grass. Naomi sat down next to her and pulled off her glasses so she could bury her face in her hands.

"Hey," Emily leaned over and started to rub soothing circles up and down Naomi's back. "Don't you ever feel like you can't tell me when it's getting to be too much."

Naomi nodded into her hands. Her voice was muffled as she said, "Sorry. I just didn't want you to have to feel like you had to look after me."

"I know I don't have to," Emily said gently. "But I like doing it anyway."

Naomi's lifted her head out of her hands and just looked at Emily. She knew it wasn't possible, knew that Naomi was only turned towards the sound of her voice, but their eyes connected and she swore that Naomi could see straight into her heart.

"Well, thanks, then," Naomi said. "I think I like it when you look after me, too. Makes me feel a little less alone."

Emily's body leaned forward a little bit all on its own. She braced her hand against the bench to stop herself but all it did was give her body more of a stable point to lean over. She could feel her heart thundering in her ears, because Naomi was illuminated by the lights from the glass door behind them and her big blue eyes were filled with anxiety and trust, which was an odd combination but one that seemed to draw her in like gravity, and she knew, knew it in the way that she knew the sky was blue and the earth was round, that she was going to kiss Naomi.

She'd only moved a few inches when the door burst open.

Katie and Cook burst outside, Katie giggling madly and Cook obviously looking around for someplace more secluded. Her face was bright red and when she saw Naomi and Emily sitting together, she paled like she knew exactly what had just happened.

"Oops," she said seriously, but then erupted into giggles again almost immediately. "Sorry."

Emily had never wanted to simultaneously murder her sister and hug her before. Katie was going to die a horrible bloody death, but she was also probably going to be reincarnated as a goddess, because even though she'd stopped Emily from kissing Naomi, well…she'd stopped Emily from kissing Naomi. And since that had probably just saved her relationship with her best friend, she couldn't be as irritated with Katie as she wanted to be.

"There's a bench underneath a tree around the corner that way," she told them, pointing. "Don't get caught."

"Emilio," Cook placed a hand over his heart. "I'm hurt that you'd think I'd take advantage of Katiekins like that. Hurt."

"I'm not," Katie grinned and grabbed his tie, tugging him over to where Emily was pointing, but she turned and mouthed 'Sorry' before they were completely around the corner. Emily shrugged at her like 'what can you do?'.

She looked at Naomi, who was looking after where Katie and Cook had disappeared with such a cute little confused expression that Emily had the brief urge to continue on with the kissing idea.

"Feeling all right?" she asked instead. Her voice was so bright and cheerful she almost convinced herself that the moment she felt on the bench hadn't even happened.

"Yeah," Naomi's smile was relaxed as she shoved her glasses back onto her face and stood up. "Let's go."

When her mother asked if she knew where Katie was, only years of practice made it possible to keep from bursting into laughter.

* * *

><p>Although they'd left before her parents, because they'd taken the long way around in order to sober up completely before they'd reached the Fitch's house, they got there at the same time that Rob and Jenna pulled into the driveway.<p>

(It should be noted that Cook had already been pretty sober to begin with, since they'd made him stop drinking long before anyone else had because he was their ride home. Emily was sure it was a strange and unusual state of mind for him.)

When Rob spotted them getting out of the car he grinned his big innocent grin and invited everyone inside for tea to talk about the wedding. Jenna looked like she'd rather sit on a live porcupine than have Cook and Naomi anywhere near her house, and that's what made Katie and Emily smile wickedly at each other and agree.

Jenna had been fluctuating between ignoring them all completely or slipping in subtle little digs at them all night, and it had gotten so far past the point of annoying it was actually toeing the line of funny. So when Emily helped Naomi out of her jacket and explained the look on Jenna's face, Naomi had smirked and immediately joined in on the fun.

For starters, when they went to go leave their coats in the living room, they lingered out there for a lot longer than necessary, until Jenna had to poke her head out of the kitchen and ask how they wanted their tea. Emily almost replied 'without arsenic' but she didn't want to give her mother ideas.

Then when they'd sat around the island in the kitchen Katie had lifted up her feet and placed them across Cook's lap, one of them directly on his crotch. Jenna's glare looked liable to set the kitchen on fire. Naomi and Emily sat so close together that a few more millimeters and their entire sides would be pressing against each other (they usually sat like that anyway, but Jenna looked fit to glare her face into a permanent squint).

Emily honestly thought that their father was going to kill Cook for the way Katie was acting with him, but when she looked over at him, he looked highly amused. Emily realized with a shock that not only did her father seem to know what they were doing, but he looked like he rather approved.

They talked pleasantly the whole time, but every so often Emily would reach out and brush her hand against Naomi's wrist or shoulder, or Naomi would smile at her while she was talking, or one of them would throw "babe" onto the end of a sentence.

It took her a while to realize that they weren't actually acting any differently than they usually did, and that scared her a little.

They were almost done with tea before her mother finally snapped. Emily had honestly been expecting it to happen much sooner, and she thought that she'd just very politely ask Naomi and Cook to leave, but it took a different turn than that.

"So, Naomi," Jenna said. "If I may be so bold as to ask, have you been afflicted your whole life or…" she let the sentence trail off.

Emily saw red. She was actually going to fucking murder her mother. What the fuck kind of question was that? But then she noticed her mother wasn't looking at Naomi but at Emily instead, with her eyebrows raised, and Emily realized it wasn't a question for Naomi at all. Upset Naomi and you upset Emily, and vice versa. Her mother had figured that out and was using it to her advantage.

"Jenna," her father said warningly.

"It was just a question, Rob," her mother waved him off.

Emily reached down and put her hand on Naomi's leg, squeezing lightly. "Well it was a stupid one," she said, glaring at her mother, who looked far too proud of herself. "And one you don't have to answer."

"No it's fine," Naomi said with so much confidence that Emily looked over at her in surprise. Although she could see the lines of tension in Naomi's face, there was a fierceness there she hadn't ever seen before. Naomi was refusing to back down in the face of the formidable Jenna Fitch. "I was in an accident as a child. It's a rather boring story, actually."

"I'm sure it is," Jenna said, and Emily wondered if she could be convicted for assault if she threw a teacup at her mother's head. "And your mother," she said, "how does she feel about everything _else_?"

Naomi frowned, her face exaggeratedly confused in a way Emily could just tell was fake. "Well," she answered slowly, "she finds having a blind daughter is a bit of a challenge sometimes. I don't know what else you could possibly be talking about."

Emily's spine stiffened when her mother said, "I mean has she met my daughter yet?"

"I think she wishes she had your daughter instead of her own," Naomi said light-heartedly. And as much as Emily was furious at her mother she was proud of Naomi, because she was really making Jenna work for it.

"And she doesn't mind at all that you're gay?" Jenna said finally, getting to the point that she knew Naomi was making her say outright.

Katie and Emily both opened their mouths to say that Naomi wasn't gay, but Naomi herself beat them to it. She grabbed Emily's hand off her leg and brought it up onto the table, where she laced their fingers together and said strongly, "Well, she likes Emily better than any boy I've ever brought home, so take that how you will."

Emily almost burst into laughter. Everything that Naomi had just said was completely true, and phrased in such a way that it could be taken to mean something else entirely.

Jenna turned her attention away from Naomi onto Cook instead, asking him about his time in school and his almost-arrest, and finally she did what Emily had suspected she would in the first place and hinted heavily that 'it was time for Naomi and Cook to head home'. But what none of them expected was what her father did next, which was to lead them all out into the living room and invite Naomi and Cook over for Fitch Family dinner the next day.

"Robert," Jenna said sharply, "I don't think that's such a good –"

"Why not?" he said cheerfully, and, oh God, Emily wasn't sure whether she wanted to hug him or not. "We always invite Katie's new boyfriends over. How about it, you two? Doing anything tomorrow around five?"

"You don't have to," Emily whispered to Naomi, but the Naomi shook her head and agreed, and Cook followed suit.

Katie grabbed Naomi and took her into the other room to grab their things and Emily leaned against the door frame and chatted with Cook. She knew there was a reason that Katie had pulled Naomi away, probably to tell her what to wear tomorrow, so she wasn't going to follow them and act like a possessive girlfriend.

When they came back into the room Katie handed Naomi her coat and whispered something in her ear, her eyes cutting over to Emily significantly before she led Naomi over to them. Their parents were hovering watchfully in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, and so when Cook leaned over to kiss Katie goodnight he was very gentlemanly about it (although Emily saw him grab Katie's ass on the side facing away from her parents and it amused her greatly).

Emily smiled when she helped Naomi into her jacket, although it was more to be date-like than because Naomi actually needed the help.

"Thank you for coming with me tonight," Emily said, trying desperately to ignore how close their faces were when she pulled Naomi's jacket around her shoulders. "And for sticking up to my mum."

"All in a day's work," Naomi said with a smile.

Emily leaned back against the doorframe and expected Naomi to step back as well, so she was completely unprepared when Naomi grabbed her arm with one hand, wrapped the other around the back of her neck, and kissed her.

It was very firm and very quick, more of a speedy touch of lips than an actual kiss, but Emily's eyes slammed closed automatically and she thought she might pass out. It was over almost before it started, and then Naomi's lips were right by her ear and whispering, "Sorry. I know you didn't want that, but I really wanted to piss your mum off."

She couldn't find the words to tell Naomi how much she _did _want that, but she was almost glad for that as Naomi stepped away and her head cleared. She'd analyze the way her lips were still tingling later, for the moment she just needed to focus on taking one breath after the other and stopping her heart from breaking.

She wanted to feel sad that it wasn't real to Naomi at all, but on the other hand her straight best friend had just kissed her in order to help her piss off her mum, and she was pretty sure that made Naomi the most awesome person to ever exist.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly. "Text when you're home safe?"

Naomi nodded and hugged her very quickly and then Cook led her out, which was good because Jenna didn't wait five seconds after the door closed before she pounced on Emily.

"What was that?" she asked. "The both of you." She widened the scope of her glare to include Katie.

Katie's shoulders rolled back and she lifted her chin. "That was our dates kissing us good night," she said, and Emily smiled proudly at her sister before she nodded her agreement (she still couldn't talk about the kiss, still couldn't believe it had actually happened, and wouldn't be able to believe it until she had relived it at least eight times in her head).

"What was _that_?" Emily countered. "Why in the world would you speak to Naomi like that?"

"Emily," her father warned.

"No, Dad," Emily snapped. "It's not okay. You don't just ask someone personal questions like that the first night you meet them, it's so horribly rude I can't even think straight, _especially _since you think she's my girlfriend, which usually means you're supposed to behave _more _politely not less."

"Think?" Her mother asked sharply.

Oh fuck, she'd let that slip out hadn't she? She blamed Naomi and her incredibly soft lips. God, her lips. They'd been pressed against Emily's. Even for just a second, and it was still the best kiss she could remember having. She needed to…snap out of it and make a good exit against her mother.

"I'm going to bed," she said. "And I hope tomorrow you'll remember all the manners that you taught us growing up."

"Emily, go upstairs," her father ordered. He put his hand on Jenna's arm to stop her from shouting Emily down again.

Emily nodded tightly at him and stalked upstairs, followed less angrily by Katie. James was hovering at the top of the stairs, his eyes wide and upset as he watched them. She thought he was upset about their fighting for a second and almost went to comfort him, until he threw his hands up in the air and exclaimed, "I missed a lesbian kiss?" before he stomped into his room and slammed the door closed.

Katie snickered and Emily almost laughed along with her. Of course their worm of a little brother would focus more on the girls kissing than he did on the fight between his mum and his sisters.

They went into their room and changed in silence, washing makeup off their faces and climbing into pyjamas without really interacting with each other. She had a text waiting for her when she got back from the bathroom, but it wasn't Naomi. It was Effy.

_**Heard you got some action tonight. **_

Emily didn't hesitate before she responded. **I can't talk about it, Eff. **

_**It'll be okay, **_Effy texted back. It mirrored Katie so much that she glanced suspiciously over to the other side of the room to see if Katie had her cell out, but her sister was already snoring lightly.

**Promise? **

_**Yeah. I really do. **_

She wished Effy good night and rolled over, but before she could fall asleep her phone went off again.

_**Cook took me out to grab some food first, but I'm home safe now. Practicing to be the best pretend girlfriend you've ever had tomorrow. N xx **_

Emily sent off a quick text telling Naomi to sleep tight and then she rolled over and snuggled into her pillow, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.

_You already are._

* * *

><p><strong>An: The Effily friendship in this chapter is _magical_. And no, Maxxie won't be important to the story. It just tickled me to make him Devin's boyfriend. **(On an unrelated note, the songs in this chapter are "Hooked On A Feeling" by Blue Suede and "Make You Feel My Love" by Adele.)****

**So I was talking with darthcaiter on Skype and when I told her about the kiss she literally yelled "SHE ATTACKS HER WITH LOOOOOVE". **

**Also, please enjoy Bear's thoughts when he wanted to jump all over Emily at the door and Naomi made him sit, as transcribed by lizardwriter and myself: "But Mum! BUT MUUUUUUUM. It's EMILY. We LIKE Emily! I wanna say hi to Emily! Please? Please, Mum? Just one lick! Maybe a quick cuddle. If she has time. MUM PLEASE CAN I? I just want to be petted once! One quick pet! Maybe a scratch behind my ear? Please?" **

**So how'd you like the wedding? Favorite part? Favorite line? Review and tell me what you think! The more encouragement I get, the more likely I am to write in class. ;D **

**Cheers ~FS **


	8. Chapter Eight: Naomi Part One

**A/n: Okay here's the deal with this chapter. When it reached the 15000 word mark and it still wasn't done I was like _fuck it _and I split it in half, so hopefully this will be the only time when you get two of the same POVs in a row. (Who am I kidding? This is me we're talking about here.) So here is part one. Also, be prepared for ~feelings. Also also, be prepared to want to give Naomi a big hug. **

**Note to self: If you're going to use polyvore to create a mental image of a character, do not put said character in clothes that you immediately want to rip off. Because Naomi's outfit in this chapter? UNF. That is all. **

**BIG ROUND OF FUCKING APPLAUSE FOR LIZ, PLEASE AND THANK YOU. Girl is a champion. Doing so much editing, on top of her own stuff, as well as giving me ideas for this. Speaking of Liz, important note at the end of the chapter. **

**Disclaimer: Nope. **

* * *

><p>Naomi had taken exactly five steps away from the Fitch's front door before she started to hyperventilate.<p>

_What the everloving fuck was __**that**__? _

She'd kissed Emily. What in the world had possessed her to do that? She'd just _attacked _her, grabbed her and kissed her without any warning. She had no idea what came over her.

Okay, that was lie. Vindictiveness and the want to protect her best friend had come over her.

When she and Katie had gone into the other room to grab her things Naomi had immediately blurted out, "Is she always like that?" without thinking.

Katie had been quiet for a bit. "No," she'd finally replied. "Normally she just ignores it and hopes Emily's gayness will go away if she doesn't pay attention to it. I think this time she was trying to punish Emily and I for disobeying her."

Naomi had frowned. "Disobeyed her how?"

"She didn't want me to invite Cook, and she didn't want Emily to bring a girl at all," Katie had answered, shocking her. "But it's been a while since we blindly followed what our mum wants us to do. No offense."

"None taken. I just wish there was something I could do to help," Naomi had sighed. "Or at least some way for me to help Emily strike back."

"Maybe you can," Katie had said vaguely.

"How?" But Katie was already leading her out of the room by that point and had refused to answer.

It was only when Katie had leaned over to place her bag in Naomi's hands that she brought her head close to Naomi's ear and whispered, "Kiss Emily."

The shiver that had gone all the way down her spine was random and but not entirely unpleasant. She'd immediately felt nervous and awkward, standing there with now-sweaty palms and contemplating kissing her best friend, but it wasn't like Katie's idea was a bad one. If there was one thing that was guaranteed to tick Jenna Fitch off it was seeing Emily kiss Naomi good night.

She hadn't allowed herself to think too much about it. And in the end Emily had been so sweet pulling her jacket around her shoulders that it hadn't even been too difficult to lean forward. She'd just wrapped her hands around Emily and kissed her.

But her reaction was…unexpected, to say the least.

She hadn't been expecting how warm and smooth the skin on the back of Emily's neck would feel when she grabbed her. She hadn't been expecting the smell of Emily's shampoo to overpower her. And even though she had gone into the kiss intending to make a show out of it, she'd had to pull back almost immediately because she had _not _been expecting the electric shock that jolted through her system the moment her lips touched Emily's.

For fuck's sake it wasn't like she hadn't kissed people before. There was that boy in her Math class back in Ireland who had very sweetly asked her to dinner and kissed her good night. And there was that wanker from when they lived in Manchester who had asked for help with the English coursework and then just leaned over and kissed her when she was trying to explain it to him. Both of those times had been nice, she guessed.

_Nice. _It was the best adjective to use in those situations. It hadn't been horrible, it hadn't been exemplary, it had just been nice. She hadn't seen fireworks (she assumed those fireworks went off in your head, and thus she would be able tosee them), and she hadn't heard music, and she hadn't wanted to kiss them for hours on end. It had just been nice.

Nervousness turned to hyperventilation and hyperventilation turned to panic, until her breathing came in shorter, shallow gasps as her hand tightened on Cook's arm. She'd kissed Emily.

She'd kissed Emily, and it had felt more than _nice. _

"Whoa there, Blondie," Cook's startled voice rang out. He dropped her elbow and slipped his hand around her shoulders instead as he guided her into the car, where he made her sit down with her legs outside the car so he could kneel in front of her. "What's goin' on? Should I get Emily?"

Naomi almost wanted to laugh out loud, but was afraid it would come off as hysterical, because _God _wasn't that just ironic? Something goes wrong with Naomi and everyone's first instinct is to grab Emily. Emily makes it better. And he was right, she needed Emily, but at the same time she needed to be as far away from Emily as possible.

She shook her head quickly and asked, "Can we just leave, please?" in a very small voice.

For a minute she thought he was going to fight her, but then he patted her knee and stood up. She didn't even fight him off as he buckled her into the car. Usually she'd shove him away and do it herself, but she couldn't get her hands to stop shaking. Instead she grabbed the seatbelt like it would keep her from collapsing in on herself.

The door across from her slammed and Cook started up the car. He turned down the music the minute it started blasting out of the speakers. "Hey there, Naomikins. Talk to the Cookie Monster. What's got you all wound up?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly, feeling small and shaky. "I just really don't know."

She did know why she was so upset, actually. She couldn't see Emily's face, she couldn't go off the same visual cues as everyone else, and so she had no idea how Emily had reacted to the kiss. Had she reacted at all? Had she been expecting it? Probably not, because Naomi hadn't even known for sure she was going to do it until about two seconds before it happened. All she had to go on was the little gasp Emily made when Naomi pulled away, and that was no fucking help at all.

"Did I just ruin everything?" she asked.

Cook bellowed out a laugh. "Doubt it, sweetheart," he said.

"Cook, did I freak her out?" Naomi blurted out. She could not stop the word vomit she felt boiling just underneath the surface. "Was she upset? Was she angry? Was she fine with it? She didn't say anything!"

"Naomi!" Cook cut her off with another laugh. "Calm your tits, girl. Ems was fine, okay? She was just fine. Was even smiling after you kissed her."

She was smiling? Well that was…not reassuring, as much as not a bad thing. Unless she was smiling because Naomi was a shit kisser. It's not like she'd had a lot of practice, and Emily was pretty experienced in kissing other girls as far as she knew, so maybe she thought Naomi was bad at it and she'd been trying not to laugh in her face…

_Really, Campbell? You just kissed your best friend and you're worried about your __**technique**__? _

Ah, and there was the panic again.

"You hungry, Naomi?" Cook asked suddenly. It knocked her right out of her own thoughts and she had to shake her head a little bit before she answered because she was just that spun about.

"A little," she admitted. Dinner had been hours ago and they'd done a lot of strenuous activity since then.

"Good. I know the perfect place, you just hang tight and we'll be there in a few."

* * *

><p>Cook wound up taking her to a shitty burger joint a few miles away. It was one of those places that tried way too hard to be an "old American" diner, which Naomi didn't understand because they weren't in America, or even London, they were in fucking Bristol. According to Cook the menus used "fries" instead of "chips" and offered milkshakes and probably would have made the wait staff roll around on rollerblades if they thought they could get away with it. They were waited on by a girl who sounded like she'd rather be chewing on nails then taking their orders and who smelled like she'd dumped an entire bottle of perfume over herself.<p>

Naomi was still tense as she sipped her water and listened to Cook keep up a running commentary on the people in the restaurant (apparently there was a man in the corner who looked like he might be Elvis), and the constant presence of his voice slowly relaxed her. Every once in a while she'd freeze as her mind wandered back to Emily and whenever it did she would immediately focus back in on Cook's voice. It worked until someone slid into the booth beside her and bumped her shoulder lightly. Naomi almost jolted, but when she breathed in sharply she caught a faint hint of jasmine and cigarette smoke.

"Effy?"

Effy stole her water and took a sip before sliding it back. "Hi," she said casually, like she hadn't just appeared in the restaurant next to Naomi.

"What are you doing here?" Naomi asked. "I assume this isn't where Freddie took you for your date."

"How do you know it's not? Freddie could be a cheap date."

"Hey!"

Cook howled with laughter and she heard Freddie punch him not-so-lightly, which earned a return punch, and pretty soon they were scuffling a little in the seat across from her. Naomi relaxed even more, letting the easy banter and teasing that existed within this group transport her farther away from thinking about the night.

Effy leaned closer and whispered under the cover of the boys fighting, "Want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Naomi asked as innocently as she possibly could.

"Whatever made you work yourself up so much that Cook texted me."

Naomi stretched her leg out underneath the table slowly until it encountered resistance, and when Cook laughed and said "Hey Blondie, what's with the game of footsie?" she kicked him so hard in the shin that he yelped and jumped back a little in the booth.

Freddie laughed, and Effy squeezed her wrist in a way that told Naomi she was very amused, and Cook grumbled about abuse so loudly they were almost asked to leave.

Effy didn't say much of anything after Cook and Naomi's food arrived, which wasn't really unusual for her, and also wasn't really a problem since the boys were more than happy acting like clowns to fill the silence. No, what _was _unusual was the constant contact Effy kept with her. Whether it was bumping their knees together or keeping a hand on her lower back, Effy never let go once.

It was like she knew that Naomi needed an anchor to keep her out of her own head, and she was determined to provide that anchor in lieu of Naomi's usual one (you know, that particular person that had been hanging around recently).

Then again this was Effy, so maybe she did know.

Naomi managed to tune the boys out a little bit. She didn't retreat into her head so much as she let the sound of their voices calm her instead of listening to the actual words that they were saying, and so she didn't even realize that Cook was recounting the events of the day until he was already on the part where they were invited to the Fitch Family dinner the next day.

Effy's hand fell on her knee and squeezed lightly, asking a silent question: _Is that it? Is that what's wrong? _

Naomi sighed, resigning herself to Effy not letting this go, and shook her head.

"And then, you won't even fucking believe this," she heard Cook smack his hand against the tabletop and the crotchety waitress walked around to shush him again, but he only lowered his voice a little when he went on, "Blondie went straight for the jugular with Jenna. Planted a big wet one on Ems before we left just to piss her off. Top notch shit."

Naomi's grip on her glass of water tightened considerably. Of course Cook had to go straight into the one thing she didn't want to think about. Effy's hand left her knee and Naomi heard her tap the table lightly.

"Freddie, can I borrow your car?" Effy asked. "Naomi's looking a bit knackered. Why don't you take Cook back to the shed and I'll met up with you in a bit."

"You do look a little pale, Naomi," Freddie said, his warm voice full of concern. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," she answered tightly. "Just tired."

"Freddie."

Naomi didn't know if it was some secret signal that passed between them, or maybe the look she gave him, or maybe it was just the way her voice sounded when she said his name, but whatever it was the next thing she knew she heard the jangling of Freddie's keys changing hands. Effy grabbed her arm gently and tugged her up and out of the booth. Although the grip was gentle the guidance was firm, and Naomi had no choice but to allow Effy to pull her away from the table and out into the cool night air.

They got into Freddie's car without saying anything. It was weird that Naomi only felt comfortable in the silences she shared with Emily or Effy. They never pressured you to fill that silence, or made you feel like a lack of noise was wrong. It was a refreshing change.

Of course, that didn't mean that Effy didn't speak up once she'd decided Naomi had been quiet long enough.

"So…"

"I did something wrong."

Naomi twisted the hem of her dress up in her hands. She hadn't actually meant to say that. What was with Effy Stonem and her ability to make you say exactly what you're thinking all the time?

"No, you didn't," Effy said firmly.

"How do you know?" Naomi asked. She rested her forehead gently against the car window and relished the feel of the cool glass against her hot face. "You weren't there. You don't know if Emily is upset or not."

"I'd know."

"How?" Naomi demanded a little childishly.

"Emily or Katie would have rung me by now."

That logic was infallible, damn it. One or the other would definitely have picked up the phone and talked to Effy. Sometimes Naomi thought Effy was the magical guru for the entire group, as was being demonstrated now by the fact that Naomi was sitting in a car that smelled vaguely of smoke and on the verge of spilling all of the thoughts racing around in her head out for Effy to read. She had so many things swirling around in her head, bumping into each other and crashing into walls, maybe Effy could help sort them out.

"Tell me what happened today," Effy encouraged, shifting down a few gears.

Naomi sighed, and she felt the moist heat as her breath fogged up the glass in front of her a little. "I don't know where to start," she said.

"Start from the beginning, get to the end, and stop."

Naomi flipped her off and Effy tapped the wheel. Naomi got the impression that was Effy's version of laughing when she didn't want to physically exert herself enough to laugh.

"It was great," Naomi said after a long pause to get her thoughts into order. "It was a great day. I always have a good time with Emily. Everyone at the wedding was really nice, well, maybe except her mum, and we had a wonderful time dancing, and…"

"And?" Effy prompted.

"And Emily was really sweet all night." Naomi made the glass fog up again on purpose this time and rubbed her hand over it, feeling the condensation under her fingertips. "She's always really sweet. I know sometimes even my Mum gets annoyed when I freak out in crowds, but Emily just grabbed my hand and took me for a walk until I calmed down."

This time the silence wasn't comfortable; it hung heavily between them until Effy decided to break it.

"That's not something you should blame yourself for," she said.

Naomi blinked in surprise. She didn't even know how Effy had picked up on that, the small pit of self-loathing that formed in her stomach every time she did something that proved she was different, like when she got uncomfortable in crowds, or when she jumped at a sudden loud noise, but seemingly she had. She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

"I guess that won't stop you from doing it," Effy sighed. "But your insecurities are something we'll have to work through another time."

"You sound like you're my therapist," Naomi teased half-seriously. "How much do I owe you for this session, Dr. Stonem?"

"The rest of the story."

Damn it again, she'd really hoped Effy would just let it go from there. No such luck.

"After the wedding we got invited in for tea," Naomi started again wearily.

"Wait," Effy interrupted. "You had tea and then you came to eat a burger with Cook?"

"We were warned not to eat any of the food."

"Ah," Effy tapped her fingers against the steering wheel again. "Jenna Fitch's cooking. Right, I remember. Please continue."

"And her mum was just so horrible the whole time and I just – I wanted to get back at her a little bit. So when Katie suggested that I kiss Emily goodnight, I just –"

"Katie suggested it?" Effy interrupted again.

"I thought you wanted the story," Naomi snapped.

"I do, I was just surprised. So Katie told you to kiss Emily and…"

Naomi couldn't speak the words that had pushed themselves to the forefront of her mind; if she spoke them, then that made them real, and making them real created a whole new set of problems.

"_Naomi_."

"I fucking liked it, okay!" Naomi exploded, sitting up straighter and bringing her feet up against the console so that she could curl into her knees as if that would offer some protection. "I've never liked anything in my life like I liked that kiss. It felt really fucking good. I wanted to do it again. I wanted to shove Emily against the wall and kiss her harder, is that what you fucking want to hear, Effy? I liked it so much I can't fucking think straight anymore. I don't know what to do with myself. My head is a fucking mess and it's Emily's fault."

Naomi's chest was heaving like she'd run a mile and the backs of her eyes were stinging with unshed tears. She tore her glasses off and wiped at her eyes angrily. The car slowed down and rolled to a stop, and Effy reached over and touched her shoulder lightly but Naomi shrugged her hand off. Her throat felt raw.

"It's okay," Effy said.

"It's not okay," Naomi shook her head. "I'm just – I'm not like Emily."

"What? Not gay like Emily?" Effy asked sharply.

"Not _sure_ like Emily! I mean, I'm already so fucking different from everyone else. Do I really want to be this too?"

Effy was quiet for a long moment before she said, "I don't think it's actually a choice thing, Naomi."

Naomi laughed, because Jesus was that ever right. When had her friendship with Emily ever been a choice? It had been an inevitability. Naomi knew she was always going to be Emily's friend the way she knew the sun was always going to rise in the morning, but this – this whole new aspect of their friendship that hadn't even crossed her mind before – this was scary, because she held in her hands the choice of fucking up the best thing that had ever happened to her, or doing nothing.

"I think I like Emily," she said finally, because she needed to say the words out loud.

"I would hope so," Effy did the 'I'm amused' finger tap again. "She's your best friend."

"You know what I mean," Naomi said.

"I know. You like Emily the way Mandy likes Emily."

The familiar rush of emotions when Mandy was brought up came flooding to the surface, and Naomi now recognized where the anger and protectiveness was coming from, so at least that part of her life was less confusing. "Nobody should like anyone the way Mandy likes Emily," she said. "That's disturbing."

This time Effy did actually laugh. "If it makes you feel any better, I've known for a while."

Naomi gaped. "_How_? I've known for an hour!"

"Naomi, you're joking, right? You two find every excuse to touch each other –"

"It's just very reassuring –"

"– you're practically attached at the hip – "

"She's my best friend –"

"– you found out about Mandy and you looked ready to kill someone –"

"Mandy's just a bitch –"

"– in fact, God help anyone who insults Emily in your presence –"

"That's what friends are supposed to do –"

"– you're a stroppy bitch when she's not around –"

"That's not even true…"

"– and your whole face lights up when you hear her voice, to name a few."

"So what?" Naomi asked, her voice small. "Am I gay now?"

"You're Naomi," Effy said. "Naomi, who just happens to like Emily."

Naomi dug the heels of her palms into her eyes to try and push back the headache she felt forming. "I don't know what to do, Effy. I mean, it's just like…is it just Emily? Do I like all girls? It's not like I'm attracted to people's physical attributes, so that's straight out. Did the kiss feel that good because it was Emily? Or because Emily was a girl and I've never kissed a girl before? What if I'm shit at kissing girls? What if I'm the worst gay ever?"

"Naomi!" Effy cut right through her hysterical rambling. "Calm down, right now."

Naomi's jaw clicked shut.

"Good. Now lean over the center console a bit," Effy ordered.

Naomi frowned but did as she was told, and the next thing she knew she felt a pair of lips pressed against hers. She jerked back a little bit, but Effy followed her, keeping the kiss intact. It was a nice kiss, Naomi decided, and it felt fine. Effy's lips were warm and smooth, and she was a very good kisser. But that was all she felt: appreciation for Effy's technique.

Effy pulled away a second later. "What'd you feel?" she asked.

"Nothing," Naomi answered without thinking. "I mean, not that you're not a good kisser, 'cause you are, I just meant – "

"I know what you meant," Effy cut her off before she could work herself up again. "Although the fact that you and Katie gave pretty much the same response is a little hurtful."

It took Naomi a full minute to process that. "You kissed Katie?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, yes," and she couldn't be certain but she could almost swear that Effy was the teensiest bit ashamed that had slipped out. "After Emily came out she was worried that because Emily was gay that meant she was gay too. It was just the one time and – will you wipe that expression off your face, please?"

Naomi tried to close her gaping mouth but her jaw just fell open again. "You're being serious," she said. "You kissed Katie Fitch."

"Just the one time," she repeated. "And as for what you should do? Keep on being Emily's friend. If something is going to happen, it'll happen on its own. We're at your house, by the way."

Naomi nodded but didn't move to get out of the car just yet. "You always seem to talk to me whenever anything is going wrong in my head," she said quietly. "That's not very fair to you. You shouldn't have to babysit my feelings."

Effy made a little humming noise, like she was mulling something over in her head. "Which part of that do you want me to attack first?" she asked.

"All of it?"

"Well, first of all, you need someone besides Emily and your mum to talk to," Effy said. "And if that person is me, well, I don't mind. I actually like you, in case you haven't figured that out yet."

Naomi buried her face in her arms to hide her blush. "And the second?" the mumbled, embarrassed.

"Second," Effy stopped talking for a moment; long enough for Naomi to lift her head. "Some people, like Emily, are lucky enough to know what it is they're feeling. And some people, like you, like me, like Cook even, we have a harder time with our feelings."

Naomi turned her head towards Effy, curious and fascinated. Was Effy Stonem actually revealing a bit of herself?

"It's not your fault," Effy continued. "And it doesn't make you any less of a good person, but you don't automatically know what's going on inside your own head all of the time. Until you figure out how to do it on your own, sometimes you need help sorting through everything, and I don't mind doing that either. I'll babysit your feelings whenever I think you need it."

"Thanks," Naomi said sincerely.

She heard the rustle of fabric as Effy shrugged. "Come on, Campbell," she said. "Let's get you into the house. Don't you turn into a pumpkin at midnight or something?"

"I turn into a squash at one, Effy, get your vegetables right."

* * *

><p>Naomi waited until she heard the car start up again and the sounds of Effy driving off before she shut the front door and locked it, sliding the deadbolt into place decisively. Despite Effy's joke about her turning into a pumpkin it was actually at least half past midnight, and given that Naomi had told her mum she'd be back at 11 she was grateful to find the house quiet and serene.<p>

Until Bear came bounding down the stairs, that is.

"No, Bear, shh!" she grabbed his collar as he nudged her legs, and he quieted mid-bark, but it was enough. Naomi cringed as she heard the click of the light switch being flipped on.

"Where in the world have you been?" her mum snapped.

Naomi sighed and her shoulders slumped. So much for getting up to her room without being noticed. "I was with Emily," she said, as if that explained everything (which to her it did). "Her parents invited us in for tea. Sorry."

"Sorry? Naomi, you're an hour and a half late. You couldn't have even picked up the phone and called to tell me where you were?"

On one level she knew her mum was right, that it would have taken two seconds for her to text and say she was going to be late, but on the other hand the rebellious teenager in her bristled at being snapped at.

"I'm late because I was having a nice tea with my friend's parents," she snapped. "It wasn't like I was out at a rave or something. Calm down, mum."

"Calm down? Anything could have happened to you, Naomi. Absolutely anything. And I wouldn't even have known until they found your body the next day."

"Oh, now that's just melodramatic."

"Don't you dare take that tone of voice with me, Naomi Joy Campbell. I was just worried about you."

"But that's just it!" Naomi threw her hands up into the air. "You're _always _worried! If I come home late, you worry. If I bump into something, you worry. If I sneeze, you fucking worry! I'm not a fucking bubble, Mum. I won't pop if someone pushes me too hard. I'm seventeen. I stayed out late with my friends. I'm sorry. Ground me, but don't treat me like I'm made out of glass."

It was the second time she'd exploded her real feelings out to someone that night. Dear Lord, what had kissing Emily unleashed inside of her? It was like she couldn't shut up. She'd wanted to tell her mother off for her excessive worrying and hovering for years. It was just as annoying as Emily asking people to watch over her, and unfortunately she knew it came from the same place of care and concern, so she couldn't even really be mad about it. In fact, now she felt guilty for yelling.

"You're right," her mum said, much more calmly. "It's just…I do worry about you, sweetheart."

Naomi felt all her annoyance drain out of her and she sighed. "I know, Mum. Just, I don't know, try a little harder not to?"

"Emily makes it easier to worry less," her mother said with a chuckle. "Because she keeps a closer eye on you than I do."

Butterflies were overrated. It felt more like dragons were winging around inside her stomach at the mention of Emily. Naomi figured this was just the more intense version of the swooping sensation that she always got whenever someone said Emily's name before. So her weird reactions were not only here to stay, but upped in intensity too. Wonderful. She shrugged instead of answering her mum.

Gina walked over and kissed her forehead. "I'll try to worry less," she promised, "and you try to give me less to worry about. Deal?"

The corner of Naomi's mouth lifted up in a wry smile. "Deal. I'm going to bed, okay?"

"Okay. Good night, love."

Bear and her mum followed her up the stairs. Naomi turned left to the first room off the hall and her mother kept going down. Naomi hesitated in her doorway. "Mum?" she called.

She heard Gina's footsteps stop and then come closer again. "Yes, love?"

"What do you do if…" Naomi faltered, suddenly unsure of herself, "I mean, how do you know if you like someone? Like, not just dating boys back in Ireland, but actually, I don't know," she stumbled over her words until they caught in her throat and came out half-choked and bitten off at the ends, "never mind. It's stupid."

She turned to go into her room but instead of her mum walking back down the hall she moved closer, until she was only a few steps away.

"Different from the boys back in Ireland how?" she prompted gently.

Naomi shrugged, still facing her door, although whether she was facing her door or her mother really made no difference here. "It's stupid," she repeated. "Never mind."

"Well, even if it's stupid, I'm going to answer it anyway," her mum said, sounding horribly amused at her daughter's fumbling sentences, and also a bit like she knew what Naomi might be talking about, which was a scary thought. "Running the risk of sounding like a horrible cliché, the only thing you can really do is listen to your heart. What does your heart say?"

Naomi let out a long breath she didn't know she'd been holding and turned to face her mother, nervously spinning her glasses around in her hands. "What if my heart is confused too?" she asked miserably.

Gina reached out and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear affectionately. "The heart is never confused," she said. "The brain can be, but the heart always knows what it wants."

Listen to her heart? That was interesting advice. Her heart had been beating to the tune of Emily for so long you'd think she was deaf and not blind. She thanked her mum again and slipped inside her room, careful to wait until she was sure Bear was all the way in before she closed the door (she hadn't once when he was a puppy and she'd caught his tail in the door, something she still felt guilty about). She sent a quick text off to Emily to let her know she was home safe, got one wishing her sweet dreams in reply, and then she took a quick shower to wash away the evening's exertions. Bear was patiently curled up on her bed when she finally slipped under the covers.

He waited until she was settled in before he pawed at the comforter a little to get it into a better shape for himself, circled twice, and settled down. Technically he wasn't supposed to be on her bed, but he'd been sleeping with her since she'd first gotten him and no way was she changing the routine now, especially when she needed the comfort.

"What do you think I should do?" she asked him quietly as he lay his head down nearby. He nudged her hand and licked it once. She laughed a little and rubbed at his ears. "Does that mean you think I should kiss her again?" He whined and nudged her hand again, and she sighed. "Well, you're biased. You like her." A huffing sound, and a burst of air that went right past her face. "Okay," she relented. "I like her too."

_Maybe a little too much_.

* * *

><p>Naomi saw swirls of red and brown and blue in her dream.<p>

If she had to be thankful for anything that had to do with her accident, she was thankful it happened when it did. There were studies done, she wasn't sure who by but she remembered reading about them, which showed that anyone who lost their sight at birth, in infancy, or before the age of seven, couldn't see in their dreams. Which meant that any younger and that would have been her as well, and Naomi couldn't imagine that, because her dreams were the only time she ever got to see. Usually it was just like this: colors, shapes, noises. Every once in a while, though, it was images and places, and those were her favorite.

But this was okay, too. She liked being able to remember what color Emily's hair was, and the blue of the sky, although she was sure the brown didn't do Emily's eyes justice at all.

She leaned back against the spongy surface underneath her (it wasn't grass and it wasn't a mattress but, hey, this was a dream, it could be a marshmallow for all she knew or cared) and watched as the colors created whole galaxies above her head. It was beautiful and she couldn't help smiling when she watched it; the light shows were like her brain's apology for her life. _Sorry I kind of screwed you over, here have this instead? _

So she was disoriented and confused when her eyes closed of their own accord and she couldn't make them open up again. She'd had this kind of dream before too, but just as she was about to start panicking (that would no doubt end in yelling that would upset Bear and make her mum come running in to wake her up) she rolled over and the dream changed.

Boy, did it fucking change.

Lips were on hers. Soft and warm and insistent as they moved against her own, coaxing her into a kiss that she slowly started to return. The spongy surface was all around her now and her hands were braced against it as she was pinned to it by whoever was hovering over her. The person moaned and rolled their hips down into Naomi's, and Naomi gasped at the sensation and broke away from the kiss.

The person giggled and bit at her lip playfully, but didn't pull her back in for another kiss. Instead they leaned down and whispered to her.

"_What's the matter, Naoms? Cat got your tongue?_"

While her brain was busy imploding in on itself her body was moving again. She didn't have any control in this dream: her body moved and her mind was just along for the ride. She rolled them so _she _was the one pinning _Emily _to the ground this time and Emily giggled again. And now that she had heard Emily's voice the whole dream had sharpened. Before she had just been focused on the lips against hers, but now she was painfully aware of Emily's legs tangled in hers, and Emily's hands on her hips, and Emily's breasts pressing against hers as she leaned down and kissed her again.

She knew Emily's hands by now. Knew how they felt held in hers, wrapped around her wrist or elbow to guide her, how her fingers rubbed soothingly at the back of her neck when she had a headache. But this was completely different. Familiar hands producing unfamiliar feelings as they ran up her back, lightly tracing nails along Naomi's spine, bunching her t-shirt up around her shoulders.

Naomi fought to open her eyes. There was no fucking way her mind could give her this Emily and not let her _see _her. She wanted to open her eyes so badly she could hardly breathe. She pulled out of the kiss and sat back, rubbing at her eyes furiously. _Open! _she wanted to scream. _Just fucking work for __**once**__! _

Logically she knew she wouldn't be able to. She didn't know what Emily looked like; there was no way that her mind could project that kind of image even in a dream. But she wanted to. She wanted to so badly a scream worked its way through her, and suddenly dream-Emily's hands were pulling her hands down away from her eyes and shaking her…

* * *

><p>"Naomi!"<p>

She bolted upright in bed, narrowly missing her mother's head, and only because Gina was used to the reaction and moved back in time. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she was absolutely positive it was going to explode. Her mum was stroking her hair soothingly and Bear was whining somewhere nearby.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" her mum asked. "You were yelling."

Naomi shook her head and focused on taking deep breaths. Her mum had learned long ago that she shouldn't hug Naomi after a bad dream. She didn't want to be touched, apart from maybe a hand on her back or against her hair. She needed a minute to calm herself down.

"I'm okay," she croaked when her heart-rate finally returned to normal.

Her mum's hand stilled against her hair. "You were also rubbing at your eyes," she said hesitantly.

Naomi winced. She'd like to say this was the first time that they'd had this conversation, but the truth was it wasn't. Dreams in which she could see were always so bittersweet, because it really hit her when she woke up that she couldn't, and she wasn't going to be able to, and it really sucked.

The addition of Emily made it worse this time, not better.

"Want to talk about it?" her mum asked.

Naomi shook her head again and Gina kissed her forehead and left. She didn't push Naomi to talk or ask if she wanted her to stay. She knew enough to know that Naomi would talk if she wanted to, and that she would interact with the rest of the world again when she was ready.

She reached over and hit the button her alarm clock that read out the time. "12:05 pm," a robotic voice read out, and she could not believe that she had managed to sleep that long. She threw herself back against her pillows when her mum closed the door behind her and sighed, rubbing at her face tiredly. Bear nudged her hand and whined and she scratched behind his ears.

"Sorry for worrying you," she whispered to him. He licked her face in reply. "Ugh, now I'm going to have to wash up."

As things in her head finally settled back down to normal she became aware of the rest of her body. Specifically the tingling sensation in her fingertips and the dampness between her legs. Maybe washing up wasn't such a bad idea in the first place. A nice, cold shower sounded about right.

She sat up and swung her legs off the side of the bed and tried not to focus on the fact that she just had a dream about snogging Emily, possibly sparked by the actual kiss that had happened the night before, with the far more likely scenario being that it was because she really fucking wanted to do it again. Her feelings were still a mess, though, and Effy's voice filtered in. A memory from last night.

_I'll babysit your feelings whenever I think you need it. _

Naomi grabbed her phone and brought up a new text to Effy. **Feel like babysitting again? - N**

She was just about to hop in the shower when Effy texted back. **"I'll bring coffee." **

* * *

><p>"I still can't believe you had a sex dream about Emily."<p>

"This isn't funny, Effy!"

"Stay still, I'm trying to fix your hair."

Naomi obediently stopped squirming and let Effy mess around with her hair, although she wasn't happy about it.

Just like she'd promised, Effy had shown up at her house about an hour after she woke up with coffee and an outfit for Naomi to wear to the Fitch Family Dinner. She hadn't actually meant to tell Effy about the dream, though. It came about because she'd been toweling her hair dry when Effy had shown up, and a few drops of water had fallen onto the other girl's arm. Ice cold water, despite the fact that Naomi had only _just _stepped out of the shower. Needless to say Effy had been all over that in a heartbeat.

And as soon as she'd guessed that Naomi had taken a cold shower, she'd almost immediately guessed why and who the dream was about. If she wasn't so goddamn helpful Naomi would really resent how fucking all-knowing Effy was.

"And it wasn't a sex dream," Naomi continued defiantly.

"Did you want to have sex with her in the dream?"

A bolt of heat went straight through Naomi's body and settled in her lower stomach as thoughts of just what she wanted to do to Emily in her dream flooded her mind. She could feel a blush creeping up her neck and she crossed her arms over her chest.

Effy chuckled darkly. "I'll take that as a yes," she said. She finished with Naomi's makeup and stepped back. "There, all done. You can get dressed now."

"Thank you ever so," Naomi said sarcastically.

"So you're upset that you had a sex dream about Emily?" Effy prompted from over by her desk.

"It wasn't a sex dream," Naomi insisted, her voice muffled as she pulled off her shirt. "And no. I was…sort of okay with the dream."

Effy laughed again, damn her.

"So what are you worried about, then?" Effy asked.

Naomi abandoned getting dressed and sat down on the edge of her bed. "I got upset during the dream," she admitted quietly.

"Because you were snogging Emily?"

"Because I couldn't see her."

Effy's quiet 'oh' was almost lost in the space between them. She moved across the room and sat down next to her. "There's no way to fix that," she said gently.

"I know," Naomi said. "It's just usually I'm very good at accepting that I'm not going to be able to see something, like when my mum took me to Paris. It's not something I'm ever going to get over, but it's something I've learned to move past. And it hit me this morning that no matter how much I want to, I'm never going to see Emily."

Effy's arm wrapped around her waist and squeezed tight. She didn't say anything, because of course there was nothing to say, but she offered her silent comfort.

"Anyway," Naomi cleared her throat to talk past the tightness in her chest, "I just wanted to talk to someone about it who wasn't my mum or Emily." She gave Effy a little smile as she repeated her words back to her.

"So talk," Effy encouraged.

Naomi leaned away from Effy and brought her feet onto the bed so she could wrap her arms around her knees, her default defensive position. "It's never going to happen, Eff," she said miserably, not even noticing when the nickname slipped out. "There's no magic wand that someone can wave and make me see again. I'm always going to need someone to look after me. I'm never going to live an easy life. And even if last night I was planning on seeing if Emily could possibly like me back…I won't, because Emily deserves better."

"They don't get better than you, Naomi."

Naomi snorted and wiped away a few tears with her sleeve. "Thanks for the lie."

"I don't lie to people," Effy said firmly. "You're one of the most genuinely good people I've ever met in my entire life, and I honestly can't think of a better person for Emily. Telling her how you feel or not is your choice, but don't count yourself out because you're blind."

Naomi shrugged, but her mind was set. She'd be Emily's friend, and she'd be friendly with the girl Emily started to date, and she'd smile at Emily's wedding, because Emily was the best friend she'd ever had and she deserved the best person in the world. And Naomi wasn't that person.

But she could pretend to be that person for a little while. Today, in fact, when she got to see Emily and act like her girlfriend. And maybe she could even sneak another kiss in there.

She shrugged and turned her face downwards. "I still don't have a shirt on," she said, and shook her head at herself. "We had this conversation with me in my underwear."

Had she been cursing Effy's all-seeing nature before? Thank God for it now, when instead of pushing her to talk more she laughed. "It was kind of distracting," she teased.

"So," Naomi bounced her feet and plastered a cheerful smile on her face, trying to dispel the last bit of depressing atmosphere. "What am I wearing?"

"Well, you want casual enough to say you feel comfortable, but formal enough to say you respect the people throwing the dinner," Effy said. "So start with this shirt. It's white, the buttons are gold."

Naomi put on the button-up Effy handed to her and smoothed her hands down the front when she'd finished the top button. It felt crisp and new but not in an uncomfortable way, and the sleeves were bunched around elbows and cinched there. Effy reached over and undid the top button and Naomi scowled at her.

"I didn't even know that you were that into fashion, Effy," she said.

"That was a direct quote from Katie."

"Well, that makes more sense."

"Here," the jeans that Effy tossed her hit her in the face, probably on purpose. "They're dark blue."

Naomi huffed but pulled them on, then tied up the boots that Effy gave her. "Whose are these?" she asked as she finished lacing them up. They only reached her ankle, but they were surprisingly comfortable.

"Yours now," Effy said. "Technically mine, but I never wear them. I have a jacket for you too. It's black, it'll finish the look off."

Naomi rubbed her hands against her jeans and stood up, holding her arms out for inspection. "How do I look?" she asked nervously.

Effy whistled. "Emily is going to have sex dreams about _you_ tonight."

"It wasn't a sex dream!" Naomi stomped her foot a little childishly. She was smiling, though. Now that she knew that she wanted to tease Emily by looking nice, it was good to know that she actually did look attractive. "Although it's not exactly a bad thing if she wants to get me out of these clothes…"

When Effy laughed again, it sounded surprised at her cheekiness. "Trying to make Emily rip them off you, huh?" she nudged Naomi with the toe of her shoe. "I can't say I blame you. Emily looks seriously hot naked, and she's great in bed."

All the playfulness in Naomi's mind screeched to a halt. She sat up from where she had been half-lying on her bed and leaning over the side to see if she could find something soft on her floor, like a pillow, to smack Effy with. "What?"

"I said what I said," answered almost nonchalantly.

"You've had sex with Emily?" Naomi asked in a low voice, just to make sure everything was absolutely clear.

"Yes."

The raging jealousy was there and it was unstoppable; like the sea in a storm it rolled off her in waves. She was sure it was all over her face, and as she straightened up and moved to stand Effy shoved her back down and straddled her hips to keep her there.

"Now I'm just uncomfortable," Naomi said coldly, with no trace of humor left in her voice.

She couldn't say exactly why she was reacting like this, except that something about Effy and Emily being together struck exactly the wrong note in her chest. It pulled at the wrong heartstring, one that made her want to hit Effy with something harder than a pillow, and she hated that she felt that way. Because she wasn't Mandy, she wasn't this jealous creature who turned green every time Emily so much as looked at another girl, and more importantly Emily wasn't her possession, they weren't even dating – hell, she'd only just figured out last night that she _wanted _to date her – and so she had no right to be jealous over the fact that Emily had slept with one of her best friends.

But even beyond just saying it to be mean to Effy, the words were true. Effy was too tall, her limbs too light, her weight distributed oddly. She wasn't Emily and Naomi didn't like her so physically close.

"Emily has shagged other girls," Effy said firmly, pressing her hands into Naomi's shoulders until Naomi stopped squirming and focused on her. "That's an idea you're going to have to get used to."

"I know that!" Naomi snapped. She wanted to cross her arms over her chest, find some way to protect herself, but Effy on top of her stopped that.

And she did know that, she really did. She was fine with it, to the extent that you could ever be fine with the idea that someone else has touched the person you like the way you want to touch them. It was in the past and it didn't matter anymore; and in any case it shouldn't matter to her.

It was just…it was Effy and Emily. It was _Effy_. It was different, somehow. Emily had more of a connection to Effy than any random that she'd fucked and it rattled Naomi to think about it.

"Listen," Effy sighed. "It was right when World War III was erupting in her house. She stayed at mine for a few weeks until everything cooled off and it just…happened."

"I guess it did," Naomi said.

"You weren't around yet," Effy snapped back, finally losing her temper with Naomi in a way she'd never done before. She wasn't sure she'd ever heard Effy's voice so sharp. "You didn't see how miserable Emily was back then. She'd just spent weeks being yelled at by Jenna for being broken. She needed to be told without words that she was still okay."

Naomi didn't say anything and just let herself process the information. Put it like that, and the situation became much less threatening. She was almost a little embarrassed at her own reaction. For just that second Effy had become a serious rival for Emily's affections and she'd reacted on instinct, but Effy was still Effy and she knew how to calm Naomi down before Naomi even knew what she was upset about.

After a few minutes of silence Effy climbed off her and sighed again. "It wasn't a lust thing," she said quietly. "I don't think of Emily like that. It wasn't lust any more than me kissing you last night was romantic. Emily needed to be comforted and I was there. Don't blame either of us for providing comfort that you didn't exist to give. Are you done being jealous now?"

Tears sprang to Naomi's eyes and she shoved herself upwards so she could turn her face away from Effy; she'd cried way too much lately.

"Naomi?" Effy moved a little closer and Naomi could hear the frown in her voice when she turned farther away instead of looking at Effy. "I thought you were angry. Why are you crying?"

"Aren't you all-seeing or something?" Naomi asked bitterly. Because that's what she was – so fucking bitter. Effy had been nothing but helpful to her, a good friend, and someone she was trying and failing to be mad at right now. Her reasoning made sense, it made all the sense in the world, but now that her anger was gone the root of all her problems had clawed its way back to the surface. She supposed it had never really left, it had just been distracted. "You realize you've done exactly what I just said I never will?"

"Naomi…"

"You've seen Emily. You've seen all of her. I can't even do that in my wildest dreams."

"You of all people should know that there's more than one way to see someone, Naomi," Effy said. "Sometimes I think you see her more clearly than anyone else." She reached out and touched Naomi's shoulder, and Naomi didn't move away. "I'm sorry. If I had known it was going to bring pain I wouldn't have said anything."

Naomi just shrugged. "Like I said before, it's just something I'll have to get over." She pushed down her feelings of inadequacy and grief with far too much practice for someone who was only seventeen. "Does Katie know?" she asked, her mouth twisting up in a crooked smile at the thought of the older twin's reaction to _that_.

"Of course Katie knows," Effy said. "It was her best friend and her sister." There was a pause. "I couldn't hear out of my left ear for a week."

Naomi laughed again and this time it was real. The tension between them depleted completely and she went into her bathroom to straighten her hair while Effy read a gossip magazine that Katie had apparently shoved on her the other day out loud and made fantastically sarcastic comments about the people in it. A thought occurred to her just before she was done, but she finished before she went back out into her room.

"Looks great," Effy commented.

"Thanks. Did you do that on purpose?" Naomi asked.

"Do what on purpose?" Effy replied quickly, but Naomi got the feeling Effy knew exactly what she was talking about.

"It wasn't just a slip of the tongue was it? You told me about you and Emily on purpose. Why?"

"So that you would find out and I would be around to smack you out of being jealous about it," Effy said. Naomi heard her still turning the pages of the magazine like emotionally manipulating your friends was a common everyday thing. And the thing was she couldn't even be mad at Effy for it, because it had worked.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

"You all set to leave?" Effy asked instead of acknowledging the thank you.

Naomi frowned. "Dinner isn't for another two hours."

"I know, but I have to do something first and I want to make sure you'll be ready to leave afterwards because I don't know how long it'll take."

"Oh-kay," Naomi drawled, stretching out the first syllable as long as possible. "I'm ready to leave whenever."

And then Effy sat down on the edge of Naomi's bed and described Emily.

She talked for so long that Naomi made her stop halfway through so she could go downstairs and make tea for her throat to keep her from losing her voice.

Effy described every little thing about Emily, every minute detail that she could possibly think of; she described every scar and physical quirk, even down to the cute little dimples that showed up when she smiled too widely. And Naomi listened more intently to Effy's voice than she ever had to anything in her entire life. She worked hard to commit every mental picture that Effy was painting for her into her memory.

She took her time, she repeated things if she thought they needed to be said twice, and Naomi was enthralled. Wonderfully – amazingly – mental images she'd never had before started to form inside her mind. The colors so fresh in her mind from her dream started to merge into images. Each dimple and curve, each freckle and scar that made Emily unique joined to form a complete, if fuzzy picture inside her head. It wasn't perfect. It wasn't even clear. But it was more than she'd had before, because Emily had only told her the basic things about the way she looked.

And wasn't that just always the way of it? If someone asked you to describe yourself, you'd say you had blue eyes or brown, that your hair was blonde or red, that you were okay-looking. You would omit things like the way your eyebrows curve because you don't like a scar you have there, or that you cock your head slightly to the left when you listen to someone speak because it's not an important fact to you.

You can never describe yourself as accurately as someone who loves you can, because they love you for every part of yourself, even the parts you hate.

Effy talked even when they had to leave so Naomi would make it to dinner on time. They were outside the Fitch house now and Naomi played with the sleeves of her borrowed jacket as she searched for better words than 'thank you' to express her gratitude for what Effy had just done. But the words didn't seem to be needed, because when Effy pressed her hand against Naomi's shoulder it almost felt like she understood Naomi's gratitude anyway.

"You're welcome," Effy said, and Naomi smiled at her.

She had her cane in her hand and was a few steps up the walk when she turned around and walked back. She tapped on the window and Effy rolled it down.

"It sort of sounds like you're in love with her," Naomi said nervously. It was her last insecurity about Effy and Emily's friendship, and she had the additional stress of having to stop herself from adding the word 'too'.

Effy laughed, an honest-to-goodness peal of amusement that had Naomi grinning in response. "Naomi," she said when she was finished, "I'm in love with Freddie, but there is a difference between romantic and platonic love, and it is impossible not to love Emily Fitch."

Naomi's grin widened because she understood exactly what Effy was saying and she nodded to her. Effy patted her hand and wished her good luck, and as she drove off Naomi turned around to face the dragon.

* * *

><p><strong>An: Say it with me now: FUCKING FINALLY, NAOMI.**

**So guess who's awesome? Well, all of you guys, obviously, but more SPECIFICALLY? Lizardwriter. Because when I told her about the platonic Keffy kiss she got ~ideas and so now there is a one-shot that she's posting that is Keffy's night of fun. It's called Trial and Error, it's written by Liz with not only my permission but my encouragement, I'm saying that it's canon, and I'm saying you should go read it. No, seriously, go. I'll wait here.**

**This half of the chapter was all Naomi coming to terms (and working through some internal issues. Oh my poor Naomi). Next chapter? The FFD. Dun dun DUUUUUN. Review? Tell me what you think? Too many _feelings?_ Not enough _feelings? _I love hearing from you. (Plus, you know, review whore.) And like I said hopefully I'll have part two up for Friday. Maybe Saturday. Sunday at the latest.**

**Cheers! ~FS**


	9. Chapter Eight: Naomi Part Two

**A/n: Um...it's still Friday until I fall asleep? Whatever, I said Friday or Saturday so yay me! So here is part two of Naomi's chapter and if you all don't melt at the Naomily-ness then I haven't done my job right. Also, if I remember correctly, someone said in a review that Naomi was the epitome of brave and awesome, to which I say...please read this chapter in which Naomi wins all of the awards. (The song in this chapter is You're Making It Come Alive by My Favorite Highway.)**

**SPEAKING OF ALL OF THE AWARDS, they all go to Liz tonight who _stayed in instead of going out in order to get this beta'd. _Above and beyond, my friends, above and beyond. (Besides her usual awesomeness of giving me ideas.) **

**But while we're on the subject, the actual FFD would have gotten written much more quickly if _someone _and I'm not naming any names but it rhymes with...um..._Wiz _decided it would be fun to send me lots of hot pictures of Jennifer Lawrence. **

**Disclaimer: Nope**

* * *

><p>The door wasn't answered by Emily or Katie or even one of their parents. Instead the door swung open and a young male voice said, "Oh fuck me sideways with a rubber duck. Babes please tell me someone sent you as a present."<p>

"Um, hi?" her complete confusion turned the statement into a question. Had she gotten the wrong house? "I'm here for Emily?"

"Damn," the boy cursed. She jumped as he bellowed into the house, "Emily! A really fucking hot girl is here for you!"

The next thing she knew there was a smacking sound and the boy yelped. "Ow! Fucking bitch, Katie!"

"You do _not _call me a bitch. Got it, worm?" Katie snapped. She grabbed Naomi's wrist and gently pulling her inside, and Naomi wondered when even Katie had got the hang of leading her around. "Sorry about him. We don't let him out of his cage often. That's our brother James. He's a prick."

"Am a prick and got a prick," James said in what was probably supposed to be a suggestive voice. "Fucking hell, girl, Emily's got top notch taste in women."

Footsteps thundered down the stairs into the living room. Naomi had a good enough grasp of the layout of Emily's house to know where she was by now.

"James, I swear to fucking God if you say one more thing about Naomi I'm going to – _Naomi!_" Emily reached the end of the stairs and stopped abruptly, and the breathless way she said Naomi's name sent a shiver down her spine. "You look…wow. Nice outfit."

Naomi went back to fiddling with the sleeves of her jacket. "Thanks," she said. "Effy kind of shoved it on me. She said something about being casually formal?"

"I knew she listened to me," Katie said smugly.

"Yeah, yeah, Katiekins," Emily said, and Naomi was pretty sure she rolled her eyes. "You're the best at fashion, we know."

"James, take Naomi's coat for her and go hang it up in the hall," Katie ordered.

Naomi quickly shrugged out of her jacket before James could get too close and she held her arm all the way out. She wasn't sure she quite trusted him to be close to her.

Someone she did trust to be close to her was nearby, though, and the minute James took her coat out of her hands, Emily snuck into her arms and hugged her.

"You really do look great," Emily murmured in her ear before she pulled away.

Thank God she pulled away when she did, because Naomi suffered another delicious shiver at the words floating close to her ear and she was pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to hide that from Emily.

"And will you grab that book I left on Dad's desk while you're in there?" Emily shouted down the hall, Naomi assumed at her brother. James came stomping into the room a few minutes later and Naomi heard the book exchange hands as he shoved it at his sister.

"Since when did I become your fucking slave, bitches," he grumbled. "OW!"

"One," Katie growled, "watch your fucking language."

Naomi snorted a little and Emily hid her face in Naomi's shoulder, probably so that Katie wouldn't hear her giggle.

"Two," Katie continued. "What did I just tell you about calling me a bitch? Don't fucking do it!"

"Or me."

"Or Emily," Katie repeated.

"Ow, ow, that's my ear."

"Say you understand."

"I understand! Fuck!"

Naomi bit her lip to keep her laughter in check. Emily noticed and wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning in and whispering in Naomi's ear that physical violence was the only way to keep her brother in check. Emily's hair tickled her neck and Naomi turned a little to make it go away. This brought their lips much closer together than Naomi was prepared for.

"Yeah, give her a fucking good one, Ems."

Emily sighed and stepped away. "Hold this for a moment, will you?" she asked, putting the book James had brought her into Naomi's hands. "I'll be right back." And then there was the sound of running and James's yelps, plus Emily's voice at a bit of a distance going, "What did I say about talking about Naomi like that?"

"Mum, Emily's hitting me!"

"Emily, are you hitting your brother?"

"Sorry. Accident."

"OW!"

Naomi couldn't decide whether to be amused or terrified. "Is it like this around here all the time?" she asked out loud.

"Yes," Katie answered, and Naomi jumped because she'd forgotten the older twin was there. "Sometimes it's worse."

"I can't even imagine."

"Sorry about that," Emily sounded out of breath again when she came back into the room. "He shouldn't bug us for now. No, that's yours," she said as Naomi went to hand her the book back.

Naomi frowned. She couldn't remember leaving a book at Emily's house.

"Put your hand on the cover," Emily urged, and her voice was so excited it made Naomi smile.

She ran her hand over the front of the cover and gasped. "What – but – how – I thought it was only on audio!"

"I had the morning shift at my Dad's gym and I saw that in the window of the bookstore across the road. I remembered you were talking to JJ about it the other day and I went in to ask the owner about it. Apparently he had it made up on special order and the guy never came in to pick it up, so he let me buy it. Do you like it?"

"Do I like it?" Naomi turned the Braille copy of Terry Pratchett's _The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld _over and over in her hands. "I love it. It's amazing. You're amazing, Ems. Thank you!" She put the book down carefully and pulled Emily into a tight hug. Her heart grew at least three sizes, and when Emily squeezed her back even tighter she buried her face in Emily's hair and never wanted to let go.

_No, stop,_ she wanted to say. _You can't be this perfect all the time. You're going to make me fall in love with you. _

Like she needed any help falling in love with Emily Fitch.

* * *

><p>Cook arrived just as dinner was being put on the table, and James was kicked out to go eat at someone called Gordon McPherson's house (thank God, because he had not once stopped hitting on her, not even when Emily threatened him with castration, saying cheekily that he'd probably have a better shot at her that way anyway). He'd complained the whole time, until his mum had snapped at him that, "It's a six-seater table, James, what do you want me to do?"<p>

Dinner wound up being just a glorified version of tea the night before. There was more food on the table but everyone basically acted the same. Emily was seated directly across from her and every once in a while she would bump their feet under the table playfully. Naomi always bumped back and once, trying her luck and bravery just a little bit, she ran her foot up Emily's leg to her knee. Emily dropped her fork in shock, Mr. Fitch asked if she was all right, and Naomi tried desperately not to burst out laughing. Cook was not so subtle, because she could swear she heard him snicker, like he knew what had just happened.

"Mum," Emily said. Naomi tried not to frown at the sly undertones she heard in Emily's voice although she was almost positive no one else picked up on them. "I'm getting a drink from the kitchen. Do we need anything?"

"More ice would be lovely, Emily," Jenna answered, surprised.

"All right," Emily stood up and walked around the table, putting a hand on Naomi's shoulder when she walked behind her. "Naoms, a little help?"

"Sure," Naomi felt the way Emily squeezed her shoulder to get her to play along and pushed herself away from the table, following Emily into the kitchen, making sure to match the sound of her footsteps exactly so she didn't run into anything.

She leaned against the counter as Emily puttered around the kitchen, clattering pans and grabbing what she assumed was ice out of the freezer from the sound of the tray. Finally she jumped up onto the counter that Naomi was leaning on and started whistling and tapping her hands against the counter.

Naomi was confused. "Um, what are we doing?"

"Sitting in here for a lot longer than we need to be."

"Why?"

"Because it will drive my mum absolutely crazy."

Naomi laughed loudly and quickly brought her hands up to muffle the sound. "You're fucking evil, Emily Fitch."

"Excuse you, Naomi, I am a _lady_. Evil has to buy me dinner first."

Naomi was gasping with the effort to keep her laugh quiet and not tip off everyone else to the fact that they were doing nothing more than sitting on the counter in the kitchen.

"Perfect!" Emily said. She jumped off the counter and cupped Naomi's face in her hands.

"Perfect for what?" Naomi asked, all laughter gone now that Emily was so close and her hands felt so warm against her cheeks. God, how was she supposed to be friends with this girl when everything she did now made her want to kiss her senseless.

No, stop, that was a bad direction for her mind to go in.

"Your cheeks are flushed and you're out of breath," Emily said. "If our lipstick was smudged just the tiniest bit…"

Naomi got where Emily was going and grinned wickedly. She lifted her hand up to her mouth, "So how do you want to do this? Do you want me to smudge it or what?"

_Or you could kiss me. We could smudge it for real. I'm sure it won't take long. _She almost smacked herself in the face. _Naomi Campbell stop fucking thinking about kissing your best friend. _No, that was the wrong way to phrase that. Shit. _Now stop thinking about fucking her. _

"Here, let me do it," Emily said. Her hands moved and her right hand cupped Naomi's chin. Her thumb came to rest on Naomi's bottom lip. "Do you mind?"

"Go for it," Naomi murmured, dislodging Emily's hand for a second. She immediately missed the warmth and was glad when Emily brought her hand back up and she ran her thumb over Naomi's lips. She was acutely aware of every motion Emily's hand made against her mouth: the way Emily's thumb dragged her bottom lip down a bit with its weight, and the gentleness with which she traced Naomi's lips to the corner of her mouth. Naomi's grip on the counter tightened and she squeezed her eyes shut behind her glasses, suddenly thankful she'd decided to wear them.

It was too much. She had to move. Emily had to move right now, or she'd find herself pushed against the wall and Naomi wouldn't be able to stop herself.

Emily breathed out shakily as she stepped away and Naomi frowned.

"Perfect," Emily said again. She was just repeating herself from before, so why did it sound like it had an entirely different meaning now? "Give me a second to do mine and then we'll go piss off my mum some more, shall we?"

When they got back into the dining room the whole table was abuzz.

"Ems you missed it!" Katie said as Emily helped Naomi sit down and pushed her chair back in for her. "Dad just made the big announcement. What happened to your makeup?"

"What big announcement?" Emily asked, probably purposefully avoiding answering Katie's question. Naomi bit her lip to keep her smile in check and she elbowed Cook in the side when he leaned over from where he was sitting next to her and whispered, "Nice lipstick," in her ear.

"A big company bought the patent for one of my machines," Mr. Fitch said, and Naomi could tell it was good news by the way Emily shouted 'no way!' before he was even finished talking. "So we'll have a bit of extra money floating around. Not a whole lot, but enough to get your mum that shiny new car she wanted, and to send Katie off shopping some weekend. James gets that little game system he's been on about," his voice went much softer when he said, "I'm sorry, love, but it's not enough to send you to that school."

Naomi didn't have to see her face to know Emily was disappointed. She couldn't reach across the table, so instead she stretched her legs out and hooked them around Emily's ankle. On the surface it was ridiculous, like she was trying to hug Emily's foot with her own, but the way that Emily put her free foot on top of the little foot-hug they'd created told Naomi the gesture was not only appreciated, but necessary.

"We wouldn't have sent her to that school anyway, Robert," Mrs. Fitch said.

Naomi wanted to punch her in the face, but the woman must have gotten some bad looks because she didn't say anything beyond that.

"But Katie did mention you might want something else," Mr. Fitch continued boisterously, clearly trying to make light of the fact that his wife was a twat. "Come on, I left it out in the garage."

"Actually," Naomi said as they all stood up. "Do you think someone could show me where the toilet is?"

"I will," Katie offered. Naomi was just relieved Mrs. Fitch hadn't offered first. "Go on, Ems, I'll bring her out in a moment. You too, Cook."

They all split up when they got to the living room, Katie and Naomi to the left and everyone else to the right towards the garage. Katie led her to an open door and then turned around towards where Naomi knew the stairs were.

"So there you go, and I'm just going to run upstairs and grab my phone. I'll be back to bring you to the garage."

"Katie!" Naomi shouted before she could get far. The click of Katie's heels paused on the stairs and then started down again.

"What's up?"

"You have to, um," Naomi waved her hand in the air, "I mean, you've got to show me where everything is."

"Oh," Katie breathed out. When she spoke again her voice was softer, more thoughtful, "I never thought about that. Sorry."

Naomi shrugged the apology off and just held out her hand to Katie again. Katie took it and touched it to the sink, which knobs were hot and cold, the towel rack and the soap. She hovered in the door a moment after she let go.

"Do you always need someone to do that?" Katie asked quickly, like if she didn't get all the words out she'd lose the will to say them.

"Do what?" Naomi scrunched her face up in confusion. "Show me where stuff is? Yeah, I guess. I'd make a right mess of things otherwise."

"Sorry," Katie said again, and it seemed to encompass more than that this time. Naomi wasn't sure exactly what Katie was apologizing for but she nodded and that seemed to be enough for Katie. "I'll be back down in a bit."

Katie wasn't there when Naomi came out again and she didn't have enough of a handle on the layout of the Fitch's house to know where the garage was on her own, so she leaned against the wall and waited. Footsteps heralded an approach but when they stopped a few feet away she was confused all over again.

"Do a have a few moments to talk?" Mrs. Fitch asked.

Naomi stopped leaning and stood straight up, her hands going automatically to brush off her jeans like Mrs. Fitch was a drill sergeant or something. Her heart started to beat just the tiniest bit faster, and not in a good way.

"Of course," she said politely.

Although there was way too much space between them for a polite conversation, Mrs. Fitch didn't move to close the distance at all. "I was just wondering how you enjoyed the meal," she said.

"It was delicious," Naomi lied. She hadn't actually eaten that much of it, having been instructed by the Fitch twins on the best way to look like she was eating their mum's cooking without actually eating it.

"I'm glad you liked it. And I'm also glad that you and Emily decided to keep your hands mostly to yourselves for this meal. However, I'm very curious, Naomi, as to how exactly my daughter convinced you to pretend to be her girlfriend?"

Naomi's jaw dropped. She'd expected polite, meaningless conversation; what she hadn't expected was that question right there. She had a moment where she almost backed down and ran away, not knowing where she was going be damned, but then the sound of Emily's sad voice when she talked about her mum floated into her mind and her spine stiffened.

"_Excuse_ me?" she asked, stressing the first word in sheer disbelief.

"Whatever she offered to pay you I'm quite sure I can double it for you to leave now."

Naomi actually couldn't believe her ears and her sarcasm reflex kicked in. "It's a good thing I talked her up to a hundred then. Tough to keep up that pesky crack addiction, you see."

"The tone of voice was unnecessary," Mrs. Fitch said stiffly.

"So was this whole conversation," Naomi snapped. "Mrs. Fitch, I assure you there is no pretending going on," _Lie_, she thought, "and I will go out into the garage and kiss her to prove it if you like." _Not a lie, but certainly not the whole truth either. _

"Excuse me, young lady, but who do you think you are?"

"With all due respect, Mrs. Fitch, who do you think _you _are? Because it's not any kind of mother I've ever seen."

The air between them shifted from stiffly polite to downright turbulent in a heartbeat. Naomi heard Mrs. Fitch step a bit closer and her heart sped up again. She was in fight or flight mode, but her switch was turned firmly to fight.

"Pardon me?" Mrs. Fitch asked, as if she couldn't quite believe that Naomi was talking back to her.

"I'm sorry," Naomi said, not sounding sorry at all, "but it's true. A mother is supposed to love her child unconditionally and without question. My mother had to deal with a stubborn, headstrong, petulant child before the accident and a traumatized, depressed, _blind _one for a long time after that. I mean I'm loads better now, emotionally speaking, I guess, but I'm still the same stubborn little twat from before, probably worse actually, and she still loves me as much as she did the day I was born."

Naomi took a deep breath and just kept on going before Mrs. Fitch could get a word in edgewise. "But you don't do that with Emily. You love her when it's convenient for you, or when she acts like the person you want her to be. Well, she's not the person you want her to be. She's better than that. So what if she likes girls? She's still the kindest, bravest, most beautiful person I've ever met in my entire life."

"I don't believe you have the authority to claim that last one."

"You don't have to be able to see to know someone is beautiful, Mrs. Fitch," she said even as she took a step backwards towards the hall. "Emily makes me feel like a better person just by being around. I feel happier, less alone. She does that for a lot of people. And you treat someone as special as that like she's worth less than the dirt on the bottom of your shoe. There isn't anything wrong with Emily, Mrs. Fitch, but I'm starting to think maybe there's something wrong with _you_." She turned her head towards the hallway and held out her arm. "Katie, could you bring me to Emily please?"

Jenna hadn't heard the distinctive click of Katie's heels in the hallway, but Naomi had. Katie had been listening from the first moment. There were times when she wasn't sure if Katie wanted to high-five her or slap her, whether she was sarcastic or sincere, but the one thing Naomi did know about Katie Fitch was that if you were her friend she had your back no matter what. They were loyal, these Fitch twins. So she wasn't worried when Katie stepped out and joined them, nor did she flinch when the older Fitch twin hooked her arm through Naomi's.

"Katherine!" Naomi winced at the ear-splitting level Mrs. Fitch managed to reach. "You're not even going to defend your own mother?"

Naomi felt Katie shrug with the arm that was linked together. "Why would I? She's just saying what I _wish _I'd had the guts to say to you for months now. Come on, Naomi." And she turned them around and walked out, leaving Jenna Fitch trying to think up a response behind them.

They walked in silence for a bit before Katie spoke up again, her voice thoughtful. "I think I'm wrong about you, Campbell."

"Good or bad thing?"

Katie tapped her arm in a very Effy-like manner as she mulled that over. "Good thing," she said finally. "Although it might just be the clothes."

"The key to your heart is fashion. Noted." Naomi chuckled and Katie laughed along with her.

Holy shit, were they actually acting like friends? They'd been civil to each other since their explosive meeting on Naomi's first day, and yes, there were times when they got along swimmingly, like at the wedding, but Naomi had never had the same connection to Katie that she did to Emily. So this? Joking and laughing and standing up to Jenna Fitch together? This was unprecedented new territory. Naomi liked this Katie. She wondered how many other people got to see this Katie.

She was knocked out of her thoughts by Emily's voice floating excitedly into the hallway. Did Emily even know she had that power? That just the sound of her voice could distract Naomi on a couple of basic levels? Her voice solidified into actual words as Naomi heard a door slam open.

"Katie, you sneaky bitch!" Emily yelled happily, and Katie was dragged away from Naomi, assumedly so that Emily could hug the life out of her.

"Ems, let go!" Katie demanded, her voice muffled.

"Fine, fine," Emily must have let go of Katie because the older twin huffed and jangled her jewelry around, probably fixing her hair. "Naoms, you'll never guess what – OOF!" All the air was knocked out of Emily's lungs as Naomi waited until Katie was clear, used Emily's voice as a guide, and threw herself into Emily's arms.

Emily's happy voice had broken right through Naomi's self-control, because she just couldn't understand how Emily was still _Emily_, having to deal with that woman as a mother. In the face of pure stubborn ignorance Emily had come out the other side a brave, warm-hearted, generally kind individual. It defied logic. It was almost a miracle; in the same way that Naomi coming out the other side of her accident a relatively healthy and sane child was a miracle.

Naomi hid her face in Emily's neck and breathed deeply. Emily's arms came up and held her automatically, one wrapping around her back and the other cradling the back of her head.

"What's happened?" Emily asked. Her voice vibrated through the side of Naomi's head.

Naomi just shook her head and Emily redirect the question at Katie, who also didn't answer.

"You're the best person I know," Naomi mumbled into Emily's shoulder; Emily's arms tightened around her in reply. "You know that, right?"

"Um, yes?" It was more of a question than an agreement. "Naomi, what's wrong?"

Naomi reluctantly let go and stepped away from Emily. Emily let her go, but she kept a tight grip on Naomi's hand. "I'm fine, Ems, I just wanted to make sure you knew that," she said quietly, squeezing Emily's hand and giving her a small smile to try and convince her of the truth.

It was true, she _was _fine. It was just for those few seconds where she hadn't been able to stand the thought that someone had ever told Emily she was less than perfect.

"If you're sure…" Emily started.

Katie snorted. "Don't look at me like that, Ems."

"I'm sure," Naomi said firmly, drawing Emily's attention away from her sister, where she was no doubt trying to telepathically glean information. "Now, why's Katie a sneaky bitch?"

Emily's hand tightened around hers as her whole demeanor brightened again with Naomi's return to normal.

"You'll never fucking guess," she enthused, and pulled Naomi towards the garage.

* * *

><p>"There is no way I'm getting on that."<p>

"Oh, come on, Naoms," Emily coaxed. Her voice was low and pleading, and unfortunately for Naomi it was utterly and irresistibly convincing. "It's perfectly safe."

"It's a death trap!"

"It's a moped, not something out of a Saw movie."

"I don't understand that reference."

Emily sighed good-naturedly and squeezed the hand she was still holding. Naomi smiled a little and squeezed back. "I'll explain later," Emily promised. "Now come on, let me take you for a ride."

She let go of Naomi's hand as she turned away and started to root around in some shelves on the other side of the garage (if the clanking was anything to go by), and Naomi was glad, because she was positive she turned bright red at the several different connotations her mind attached to that sentence, and the scenarios her brain supplied a moment later.

_God fucking damn it_, her new reactions to Emily were so much more embarrassing.

Apparently all the Fitches got different gifts: Katie, Effy, and Panda were going for a shopping weekend in London, James got some sort of game system and a shiny new bike, and Emily got the moped (thanks to Katie letting it slip to their dad that it would be a good present for the younger twin).

According to Katie, it was orange, beat up, and "totally gay". According to Emily, it was perfect.

Naomi still wasn't convinced it wasn't going to kill her.

"Ah-ha!" Emily hopped over (she was channeling Pandora in her hyperactive happiness over her gift) and thrust an object into Naomi's arms. It was round and hard, but not very heavy, and kind of hollow. "Dad didn't get a helmet from the owner, bless his heart, but I thought we might have one lying around. There you go."

"I'm still not getting on that thing," Naomi said stubbornly, shifting the helmet around in her arms.

"Naomi," Emily was suddenly far too close for Naomi to be able to continue thinking clearly, her hands resting lightly on Naomi's forearms, "would I ever let anything happen to you?"

Naomi shook her head, because she was pretty sure she'd just swallowed her tongue, or worse, if she opened her mouth to say "no" the words "fuck me" might fall out instead.

"Come on, then," Emily tugged lightly on her arms and Naomi followed the gentle coaxing, obedient as a blonde puppy. It was imperative that Emily never find out that if she used _that _voice then Naomi would never be able to deny her anything.

Naomi swung her leg over the seat of the moped, her heart pounding nervously, and it wasn't until Emily moved to sit in front of her that a thought occurred to her.

"What about you?" she asked.

"What about me?" Emily replied, her keys jangling around as she shoved them into the ignition.

"You're not wearing a helmet?"

"I'll be fine."

"No!" Naomi was up and out of the seat before Emily could even start up the engine, moving so fast she almost fell over because she tried to move away before her leg had completely cleared the seat. "You need a helmet."

"Naoms, I'll be fine – "

"You need a helmet, Emily!" she snapped, pulling her own helmet off. She'd never used that tone of voice with Emily before, but it was the panic talking. She'd figured out Emily wasn't planning on wearing a helmet and all she could think about was Emily on the ground, head split open. Or worse, in her mind: the screech of tires and then living in a world of nothing at all, ever again. Her hand shot up to rub at the back of her head anxiously; a nervous habit.

"Naomi, calm down please?" Emily stepped off the moped and moved closer to Naomi.

Naomi took a few deep breaths and felt the moment of panic and hysteria drain away. She dialed back the intensity a bit, so her voice was less hysterical and more firm when she said, "You need a helmet too, or I am not getting on that thing again. You could get seriously hurt. You could – your head –"

"I'm sorry," Emily apologized, sounding so guilty Naomi wanted to forget her irritation and give her a hug. "I didn't even think about that."

"No, you didn't."

Emily made a small little distressed noise and Naomi's urge to hug her increased. "I'll be right back," she said, and before Naomi could say anything else she had walked past Naomi and out the big, open garage door.

There was a scoff nearby and Katie sneered, "World class freak-out, Campbell."

Naomi jumped and immediately got angry with herself for doing so. "Fucking announce yourself, will you?" Ah, and there went her nice little moment with Katie from earlier.

"Sorry," Katie said, without sounding very sorry at all. "Seriously, the fuck was that? Ems just wants to show her best friend her new toy. You didn't have to be such a raging bitch about it."

"It was nothing," Naomi mumbled, her hand unconsciously moving to the back of her head again.

The truth was she was fucking embarrassed by her knee-jerk reaction. It had been so instinctual – the need to make Emily understand that it _wasn't _okay, that people _died _like that. She would let Emily Fitch get away with murder, hell, she'd help hide the body, but she would _never _let her do something that would get her hurt.

"Pretty intense nothing."

"Kay, leave her alone, yeah?" Emily's voice appeared in the doorway again, sounding annoyed and out of breath.

"Fine," Katie jumped down from where she had been sitting higher than Naomi, maybe on one of the cars. Her heels clicked as she walked back towards the house. "Have fun on the Lezmobile."

"I'm sorry," Emily said again as soon as Katie was back in the house. She grabbed Naomi's hand where it was rubbing at the back of her head still and brought it down between them, lacing their fingers together briefly before letting go and stepping away again, like she wasn't sure if she was allowed to be in Naomi's space. "For Katie, and for my stupidity. I didn't even think – it was probably the stupidest thing I've ever done."

Naomi nudged her playfully. "I don't know about _stupidest_, you do have an impressive track record."

"Hey!" Emily smacked her hand away and giggled. "Anyway, I just had to run across the street. Dicksplash neighbor has a motorcycle and he let me borrow his helmet. Now we have two."

Naomi's entire face softened. Emily wasn't mad and left to go be angry somewhere else or anything like that; she'd gone to get another helmet.

"Dicksplash neighbor?" she questioned so she wouldn't start tearing up.

"Yes, one of our many. We also have old cat lady neighbor, old dog lady neighbor, neighbor whose wife is cheating on him, neighbor who plays loud music in the middle of the night, dorky neighbor, and dicksplash neighbor's girlfriend."

Naomi bit her lip to keep in the laughter at the matter-of-fact way that Emily rattled off that list. "Do old cat lady neighbor and old dog lady neighbor butt heads?"

"Surprisingly, no. Their animals on the other hand…"

They both managed to hold it in for another few seconds before they burst into giggles.

Emily stepped closer again and grabbed Naomi's hands, bringing them up so Naomi could feel as she put her borrowed helmet on. "See? Helmet."

"I'm sorry for the way I reacted," Naomi said, running her finger along the hard plastic at the top of the helmet.

Emily moved her hands away and put Naomi's helmet back on for her, cinching the strap underneath her chin. "Don't ever apologize for yelling at me when I do something stupid, and I won't apologize for doing the same to you."

Naomi smiled softly. "Planning on yelling at me?"

"Just covering all my bases. Now, back on the moped, Campbell."

Naomi rolled her eyes and got back on the moped, feeling nervous all over again. Emily walked around to the front and kissed the back of Naomi's helmet as she passed, directly over the part Naomi had been rubbing at earlier. A bit of Naomi's nerves dissipated at the adorableness of the gesture.

"Ready?" Emily asked, revving the engine as she asked. Naomi nodded and Emily laughed. "You've got to hold on, Naoms."

Oh, right. Hold on to _what_, exactly? There weren't any handles or belts or…_oh_.

_Oh fuck me. _

She had to hold on to Emily, obviously. Well that was okay. She could do that. God, she was already ridiculously comfortable with Emily touching her anyway, if the sheer amount of times they'd touched each other today was any indication. (And thanks, Effy, for pointing that out, because now she couldn't think of anything else.)

But this wasn't just holding her hand or even a hug. This was going to be arms completely wrapped around her, her front pressed into Emily's back, lots of _things _pressing into other _things_ and no separation between them.

Naomi took a deep breath and scooted forward a little to wrap her arms loosely around Emily's waist. Then she yelped in surprise as Emily shot forward a few feet and stopped suddenly, making her body fly forward into Emily's, and she quickly wrapped her arms tightly around Emily's stomach.

"Better," Emily said, and Naomi could hear the cheeky little grin on her face. "I'm not going to bite, I promise."

"You're going to kill me on this thing," Naomi whimpered.

Emily patted her arm comfortingly. "Hold on tight!" she cautioned, and Naomi tightened her grip a little bit more.

_You know what, fuck it_, she thought to herself. _If I die, I'm going to die feeling really fucking awesome about life. _

As Emily accelerated onto the street Naomi scooted forward just a little bit more. The sensation of having her knees on either side of Emily's hips was a little mind-blowing, actually, and she shifted so her legs were lined up closely alongside Emily's. She cuddled in closer, pressing herself more firmly into Emily's back and wrapping her arms just that much tighter around Emily's stomach. She could feel it whenever Emily took a breath, could feel the beat of Emily's heart through the side of her chest, and she started to relax a little bit.

Naomi could feel Emily's heart absolutely racing and she laughed, the sound was caught and carried away by the wind as her heart sped up in reply, trying to synch itself with Emily's. Not that it would have much difficulty. Her heart pretty much always wanted to beat with Emily's.

"This is kind of wicked," she shouted over the wind, and Emily leaned back into her a little to show she heard.

It wasn't that hard to get the hang of riding along with Emily. She had to lean a little bit every time Emily turned, but she could feel the shift when that was happening. The wind felt good against her face, protected as she was mostly by Emily's body, and having Emily pressed against her…well, she saw a lot of cold showers in her future. The only part of herself that was really feeling the cold was her hands, because they were the only part of her that wasn't shielded by Emily. She mentioned it at the next stoplight they reached.

"Put them inside my jacket," Emily suggested. She reached down and unzipped the aforementioned jacket before kicking them off and accelerating down the street again.

Naomi slid her hands inside Emily's jacket and regretted the decision almost immediately. The inside of Emily's jacket was warm and toasty, sure, but now her hands rose and fell with every breath that Emily took, and Naomi's pinky touched a bit of skin where Emily's shirt rode up a little under her jacket. Now that she'd finally admitted her feelings for Emily that strip of skin was so tempting. She couldn't help brushing her pinky along it slightly, but Emily very abruptly switched lanes and it knocked her hand farther up onto Emily's stomach. Which was fine, except now all Naomi could think about was moving her hands farther up. It wouldn't even take much, just a few inches higher and…

She curled her fingers into the warm material of Emily's shirt instead to physically stop her hands from moving. She despaired a little, because being Emily's friend when all she wanted to do was be Emily's something else was quite a bit harder than she thought it would be. And because Emily was so warm and delicious and tempting in her arms.

They parked up and Emily stopped and cut the engine. Naomi felt her pull her helmet off and she smiled as Emily started laughing.

"That was great!" Emily said brightly. "I mean the wind sort of messed up my face a little bit, I'll have to get something to fix that, but it was brilliant! Wasn't it?"

Naomi reluctantly let go of her and shifted back farther in the seat.

"Yeah, it was."

* * *

><p>There was no formal way for Fitch Family Dinner to end, Naomi guessed. James came home and immediately started hitting on her again, so Emily quickly suggested they fuck off before Mr. Fitch wrangled them into helping them do the dishes or something. It was a good thing that they were already wearing comfortable clothes, since Cook had bussed over and they wound up walking.<p>

"What do you usually do after dinner?" Naomi asked. Emily was walking beside her and Cook and Katie were a bit in front of them, and every time that her hand brushed against Emily's she resisted the urge to grab it.

She heard the rustle of clothes as Emily shrugged. "Usually stay in our room. Sometimes not. Sometimes we'll go out, but not a lot of places are open late on Sundays. I think Katie has yet to find a club for us to go to on Sundays after dinner."

Katie grumbled in front of them and Naomi laughed. "Well, it's not like I've ever been to a club before anyways, so I can't really help you with that."

The complete silence from all three of her friends freaked her out. "What?" she asked, feeling their eyes on her.

"What the fuck," Katie blurted out. "You've never been to a club before?"

"Um, no?" She felt like that might be the wrong answer.

"Why the fuck not?"

"Katie," Emily said warningly.

"It's fine, Em," Naomi reached out and grabbed her arm before she turned towards where Katie's voice was coming from. "It's just never been my thing, I guess."

Katie huffed a little, like she was personally offended that Naomi had never been out before. "Well, we're going this week then."

"No, we don't –"

The thought of going to a club was a little terrifying and her hand tightened on Emily's arm, but, just as she was trying to tell Katie that, they were interrupted by the screech of tires and the beeping of a car horn. Naomi jumped sideways away from the street and right into Emily, who looped her arm around Naomi's waist and caught her.

"Freddie, you asshole!" Emily shouted.

Cook was laughing his big howling laugh and taunting Freddie about driving a "mommy-van" and she could hear Freddie's voice calling him names, and Panda was saying something to Katie about a shopping trip, and Effy was telling them all to get in because they were going to get some actual food. All of that was happening, and she was semi-aware of it, but only in that peripheral way where everything sounds like it's filtering through water, because something way more important was happening in her world.

Specifically, Emily had caught her and hadn't let her go.

She was still clutching Emily's back and letting her heart calm down after the scare that Freddie had given them, and she could feel Emily's hair brushing against her forehead. Her hypersensitive sense of touch was telling her that Emily's skin was smooth where their cheeks were touching, and her breath was warm where it was hitting Naomi's neck, and her arms were protective and secure as they held her up. She was very conscious of the fact that if she turned her head just the tiniest bit, Emily's lips would be on hers again.

Her heart broke all over the place and she pulled back.

"You okay?" Emily asked, still so tantalizingly close.

Naomi couldn't answer. She was pretty sure she couldn't breathe. The temptation had been so powerful, to just pull Emily in for a kiss, a real one this time. One part of her mind was telling her that she should answer the question, but the bigger part of her mind was going: _what question? _

Emily pinched her lightly in the side. "Naoms?"

"Yeah," Naomi shook her head to clear it and moved another step backwards away from Emily, which she found cleared her head even more. "I'm all right. Just a bit startled is all."

"Okay," Emily said, "well –"

She was cut off by Effy's voice from behind them. "You've missed a chance at the front seat," their friend said lightly. Cigarette smoke blew past Naomi as she heard Effy slide open the door behind her. "Which means Cook and Freddie are going to fight over music in the front. Freddie's dad has a bunch of shit in the back, Thomas and Pandora and JJ can barely fit back there. Looks like it's us four trying to fit into the three-seater in the middle."

Naomi felt a tug on her hand and Effy pulled her up into the van and pushed her over to the far side of the car so her shoulder pressed against the window. The smell of jasmine and cigarette smoke told her Effy was the one squished up on her right, and she heard Emily and Katie squabble and grunt as they both got in and slid the door closed behind them.

"Fuck's sake, Ems, your elbow is so bony," Katie complained, sounding breathless.

"It's not my fault!" Emily snapped back, her voice sounding almost exactly the same.

"Ladies," Cook laughed, "the twin thing is hot but don't kill each other, yeah?"

"Oh for fuck's sake," Effy breathed out next to her. Naomi snorted and bit her lip to keep in her laughter, until Effy leaned over and whispered, "You won't be laughing for long," and then louder, "Brace yourself, Naoms. Emily, come here."

Naomi felt Effy reach an arm over and tug, and very abruptly Naomi had a lapful of Emily Fitch. Emily settled automatically, her legs swinging over so they lay across Effy and her sister, the weight of her body forcing Naomi's legs apart just a little bit, and her arm going up and around Naomi's headrest.

"Whoa!" she said breathlessly. Her voice had dropped at least an octave and gained an extra bit of husk. "You all right, Naomi?"

"Quit asking me that," Naomi said as she tried to keep her voice light-hearted and hoped to God she didn't sound as turned on as she felt, "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Effy said with so much fake concern that Naomi felt like hitting her. "You look a little sick. Em, will you?"

Cool hands brushed across her forehead and her cheeks before Emily leaned forward and kissed her forehead lightly. "You do feel a bit warm," she said quietly, _her _voice full of _real _concern.

"I'm good," Naomi squeaked out. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I promise I feel fine. It's just a tight fit in here."

"I'm not too heavy, am I?"

That provoked a genuine laugh out of her and she started to relax a bit, although how anyone could be _completely _relaxed with Emily Fitch in their lap was beyond her comprehension. "Ems, there are kittens that weigh more than you," she said, breaking through her Emily-induced paralysis to squeeze her thigh gently (before quickly removing it like her skin would catch fire if she touched that part of Emily's body for too long). "You're okay."

_You're more than okay. That's the problem. I just want to kiss you and touch you and do lots of other far dirtier things to you right here even though we're in a car full of friends because you're amazing and beautiful and perfect and I don't understand what I've done to deserve having you in my life but I hope I keep doing it forever. _

Emily relaxed a little bit too, she leaned more into Naomi's body, and she got a little more comfortable in Naomi's lap. Seemingly absentmindedly she started playing with the hair at the back of Naomi's neck. It actually felt really good. She leaned forward a little to give Emily more access and felt her hand run up the back of her neck and smooth down the hair again. It felt _really _fucking good, and now her face was buried in the shoulder of Emily's jacket and Naomi took a moment to just breathe in smell of fake leather the vaguely fruity shampoo Emily used. If Naomi was a cat she would have been purring.

Effy started laughing, and this time Naomi did hit her. But gently, because Effy was all sorts of awesome, even when she was being an annoying interfering twat.

* * *

><p>Naomi had powered through a hamburger and chips at Cook's Uncle Keith's pub because she was just so fucking hungry. Emily and Katie had absolutely not been exaggerating with their mum's inability to cook. The whole group was laughing about something that had happened way before she'd ever joined them so she was focused on stealing some of Emily's chips without her noticing (with Panda's sneaky help) when Katie brought up the subject of going to a club again.<p>

"Fuck yeah, Blondie!" Cook howled. She heard the thump of glass hitting the table as he slammed his pint down. "We've got to get you loose, girl. Get some alcohol in you, dance with less clothes on. Get Katiekins here to help pick out your outfit and the lads will be all over you like a rash."

Okay, maybe she was a bad teenager, or maybe it was the rash analogy, but absolutely none of that sounded appealing.

Emily stiffened next to her and when she spoke her voice was clipped and a little cold when she said, "Maybe Naomi doesn't feel like going out."

Naomi frowned and fidgeted with her shirt, playing around and buttoning and unbuttoning the top. She couldn't figure out why Emily sounded so mad about the idea of going out. Did she think Naomi couldn't handle it? It would be just like the party at her house, wouldn't it? Except more people and probably louder music. And also Naomi had freaked out at the party, _and _at the wedding. Maybe that was what Emily was upset about: the prospect of taking Naomi out with them and having her freak out again.

Resolve straightened her spine and she stopped playing with the buttons. She could handle going out and she would. She'd be a normal seventeen-year-old for once, damn it.

"I think going out could be fun," she said firmly. "And I guess Katie can help me get dressed, you know, if she wants."

Katie clapped and Cook howled again, telling her to 'yeah, get some Blondie'. Next to her Emily stood up and excused herself to go to the toilet. Naomi tracked her progress with concern and only stopped when she couldn't hear Emily's Converse against the wood floor. She stood up and followed her, using one hand to guide her around the tables and chairs, and stopping when she reached the bar and Keith told her the toilet was occupied. She sat on a stool and waited until Emily came out.

The door swung open and she opened her mouth and blurted, "Are you mad at me?" before Emily even had a chance to finish saying "Naomi?"

"Why would I be mad at you?" Emily asked sharply.

"Because you just said that in an angry voice."

Emily sighed and Naomi's heart hurt.

"Whatever I did," Naomi said quietly, "I'm sorry."

"Naoms," Emily hugged her quickly and Naomi returned it on automatic. "I'm not mad at you, I promise. You haven't done anything wrong."

"But you're mad at someone?" Naomi prodded, tightening her arms to keep Emily in the hug.

"I'm mad at me. And no, there's nothing you can do to help."

Emily sounded so sad that Naomi couldn't help herself. "Stay still," she said. "Okay?" She waited until Emily nodded against her shoulder and then pressed her hands against Emily's collarbones and pushed her away a little. She felt when Emily took a deep breath at the contact, and again when she slid her hands up to cup Emily's face. She followed her arms so that she could lean forward and press a kiss to Emily's cheek without missing.

"I was wrong," Emily said, and Naomi could hear the smile as she pulled away. "That helped a little."

"Good," Naomi smiled back at her. "An escort back to the table, please and thank you."

"How did you even get over here?" Emily laughed and looped their arms together, sounding leaps and bounds happier than before.

"The bruises on my hips were a noble sacrifice in the name of friendship," Naomi quipped. She flushed immediately when the little devil on her shoulder popped up and suggested she ask Emily to kiss them better.

They were still laughing when they reached the table and Effy grabbed her arm instead and lead her back the way she and Emily came, citing a fag break. Naomi allowed Effy to drag her outside and gladly accepted the offered cigarette, allowing the nicotine to calm her raging hormones.

"Is this the part where we have a deep talk about my feelings for Emily?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

She heard Effy's shoe scrape against the ground. "Nope," she said. "This is the part where I ask you how many times you two have touched each other today."

Naomi thought back on it: the hug when she showed up, the hug when she got her present, the arm touches, the leg touches, the lipstick smudging (which had to count as five touches at least), the moped, more arm touches, catching her on the street, the kiss on the cheek…Naomi lost track and had to start over again.

"Oh my Godyou've lost count haven't you?"

"Shut up, Effy."

"That is _glorious_."

"Shut _up_, Effy."

* * *

><p>They all piled back into Freddie's minivan at the end of the night and he did a long loop to drop everyone off, saving Naomi and the Fitch twins for last since they were closest to his house. Emily had just hugged her goodbye and gotten out of the car when Naomi had a thought.<p>

"Freddie, this is going to sound horrible, but if I give you the petrol money can we make a detour on the way to my house?"

"Sure," Freddie sounded surprised but not upset, "anyplace in particular?"

Naomi smiled. "Well, actually I was hoping you'd know of a place that might still be open…"

* * *

><p>"<em>You can't disguise a heart while it's breaking, you hide behind the smile you're faking, it's all about the chance you're taking, oh and you know that you're making it all come alive." <em>

Naomi couldn't help bopping along to the music as she ran around her room pulling on her jeans and trying to remember where she left that jacket that Effy let her keep, because it was rather comfortable. She was running a bit later than normal because for some reason she'd almost slept through her alarm and she didn't want to make Kieran wait for her and have them both wind up being late.

"_Life flies by so you have to embrace it, forget the past 'cause you cannot erase it, so live the dream and learn to chase it, and when you can almost taste it…it's all come alive." _

She turned down the music when she heard her mum call her name and pound against her door.

"Yeah?" she called.

"Your ride is here!" her mum said, and Naomi heard her start to walk away from the door.

Naomi frowned and finished lacing up her trainers. She made sure the item she'd had Freddie help her buy last night was in her bag before she pulled it over her shoulders and clicked off her music, bouncing down the stairs and only avoiding running into that buggering hall table because Bear barked just before she hit it.

"I'd hope Kieran is here," she said when she walked into the kitchen. "He lives here."

"Either you weren't aware that Emily was coming to pick you up today or one of us has a mental deficiency," her mum said.

Naomi's jaw dropped open. Emily hadn't said anything about picking her up this morning. Had she? No, she hadn't. That was something Naomi would have remembered. "What?" she said.

"Emily. Small person, nice voice, attached at your hip? Ringing any bells?"

"I know who Emily is," Naomi snapped. "I meant what do you mean she's outside?"

"She's outside on the porch with a rather cute little helmet on. I love scooters. Did you know I rode one for a bit in India and…you don't care, do you?" the last bit of the sentence was cut off as the door to the hallway swung closed behind Naomi.

Bear was jumping and scratching at the front door like he was actually trying to wear a hole into the wood, and that was pretty much what told her that Emily actually was outside. The lengths her dog would go to so that he could say hi to Emily were ridiculous. She swung the door open and stuck out her foot so he couldn't get by. He whined.

"Morning!" Emily's cheerful voice greeted her. "Would you like a ride to college?"

Naomi laughed incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

"Offering you a ride to college?"

Naomi rolled her eyes. "On your death trap?" she asked.

"For the last time, Naomi, it's a Vespa."

Bear nudged his way under Naomi's leg and his high-pitched ecstatic little whine as he greeted Emily was hysterical. Naomi knew the feeling.

"Promise you're not going to kill me?" she asked, biting her lip to keep her smile in check.

"Promise."

"And dicksplash neighbor let you borrow his helmet still?"

"Actually, I've got another one. Do you know how hard it is to find any store open at this hour of the morning to sell you motorcycle equipment?"

Naomi bit her lip harder to keep her answer from flowing out, because saying _Probably about as hard as finding one still open on a Sunday night_ would have just given it away.

"Okay," she relented, and she heard Emily let out a soft 'yes' in reply. "But first thing's first. Bear, inside!" She ordered. He whined again but obeyed and she shut the door firmly behind him. "Second, hold out your hands and close your eyes."

She heard a rustle of fabric and then Emily said, "Okay."

"Your eyes are closed?"

"Guide's honor."

"I didn't know you were a Girl Guide."

"For like a day, Katie got sick of it and made me quit. That's not the point, though, the point is my eyes are closed, I swear."

Naomi rooted around in her bag until her hand landed on what she wanted and she brought them out, placing the aviator goggles in Emily's hands triumphantly. She and Freddie had gone to at least three different places before they'd found one that was still open and sold those. "Open up."

Emily's delighted gasp made all the effort worth it, especially when the next second saw Emily throwing her arms around her in a tight hug. "You got these for me?" she asked.

"You said the wind was hurting your eyes so…"

Emily squeezed all the breath out of her before she let go and Naomi heard the snap as Emily put the goggles on. "Perfect," Emily said and Naomi grinned.

"Here!" there was more rustling and then Emily was shoving another helmet into her arms. "It's orange, hope you don't mind."

"Well, obviously I hate orange, so that's a problem."

Emily huffed out a laugh and shoved her shoulder. "Bitch."

"Only with you."

"Come on, Naoms," Emily grabbed her hand and led her down the steps. "We're going to be late for college. Not that I haven't been late for college before, but we don't want Harriet to think you're following my poor example."

Naomi ducked her head and smiled. _Emily Fitch, I'd follow you anywhere._

* * *

><p><strong>An: So darthcaiter got mad when they didn't kiss in the kitchen. And Liz got mad when they didn't kiss on the streets. And there were threats of pitchforks involved. BUT I STAND FIRM. NO ONE SHALL INFLUENCE MY_ BIG PLANS. _**

**And I'm gonna take a moment here to be really sappy with you guys. It's hard work, writing this stuff. There is research involved and the actual writing and Liz beta-ing to her heart's content and I've totally shirked homework for you guys and...as much as you guys thank me for writing this, I want to thank you for reviewing. Sincerely. From the bottom of my heart type shit. My friends thought I was getting text-flirted with because of how big I was grinning when I checked my email on my phone. And that's all down to you. So, round of applause for yourselves.**

**Now go do it again! (Requests the review whore.) Seriously, favorite part, favorite line, something you didn't like. Go. I'm all ears (eyes?). **

**Cheers! ~FS**


	10. Chapter Nine: Emily Part One

**A/n: First thing's first: for those of you that don't already know this is another two-parter. Because I seriously can't help myself. And also because I like the symmetry of them both having two chapters. And also because you lot have been so patient with me while I've been busy with school and working long hours. I'm hoping to get part 2 up soon, maybe at the end of the week? Tentatively shooting for Sunday. **

**Second thing second: A big round of applause to lizardwriter for beta'ing this _while sick_. And a good way to thank her is to go over and read and review her new story, Heart of Stone. No really. Go do it. Now. It's okay. I'll wait right here. (It's lizardwriter, and it's Effy as a _mob boss _why aren't you reading this already?) **

**Also, the first part of this chapter gets the teensiest bit heated, so if you're reading it around small children with mind-reading capabalities...don't?**

**Klytaemnestra if you don't catch the itty bitty shout-out in this I will be very disappointed.**

**Disclaimer: Nope**

* * *

><p>When Emily opened her eyes and found herself back in Freddie's van, for half a second she thought that she had entered some kind of ridiculous time loop, and that she would be stuck replaying the same day over and over like a horrible version of Groundhog Day where she never got to have sex again.<p>

But then she remembered that not only was the trip in Freddie's car on Sunday night, but that she distinctly remembered falling asleep on Thursday night. And then she noticed that the car was completely empty, no driver, and was driving through fields of green candy floss. After that she figured it was just a really vivid dream. Well, either that or someone had spiked dinner.

Her subconscious had taken her right back to Freddie's car, complete with Sex on Fire blasting her ears off and Naomi's arms wrapped around her from the side.

"_Hot as a fever, rattling bones. I could just taste it, taste it. If it's not forever, if it's just tonight. Oh, it's still the greatest, the greatest, the greatest." _

She had never been more comfortable sitting in someone's lap than she had been with Naomi that day. She'd just fit in a way that was completely impossible to describe. They were so comfortable touching each other these days that Naomi had even let her play with her hair. She'd spent most of the ride over to Keith's running her hands through that wonderfully soft blonde hair, and if the way Naomi had leaned into Emily and practically purred was any indication then she enjoyed it.

She didn't know how long she could stand Naomi being so comfortable touching her, though. Not when Naomi had tucked her hands inside Emily's jacket during the ride on her moped, and it had taken all of Emily's self-control not to grab Naomi's hand and shove it down her pants.

Just like in the van it had taken all of Emily's self-control not to shift a little farther down and situate herself more firmly in Naomi's lap, or run her fingers down Naomi's back and up again and kiss her headache better (or whatever it was that had Naomi looking so pale and tense).

If she closed her eyes (not that she would close her eyes in a dream…would she? This was getting confusing) she could still imagine how it felt to have Naomi pressed in all around her, to have her hands resting lightly across her thighs. She'd never been more comfortable, and she'd never been more turned on.

The ride to Keith's had been so physically comfortable and so mentally uncomfortable, because she couldn't stop her brain from constructing scenarios all on its own. Scenarios where Naomi leaned forward and kissed her, where the rest of the people in the car ceased to exist and she could simply turn around and have her wicked way with Naomi without anyone else being the wiser.

It was only when she felt Naomi's lips press against her neck that she remembered that she didn't have to imagine it. This was _her _fucking dream, after all. She had her wish: there was no one else in the car, and she was going to damn well have her wicked way with her.

She moaned as she felt Naomi suck on her earlobe for a second before moving back down, running her lips over Emily's skin, stopping to pay special attention to certain spots with her teeth and tongue.

"_You, your sex is on fire." _

"Fuck," she hissed as Naomi pulled her shirt down to place open-mouthed kisses against her collarbone.

She wiggled away from Naomi's arms and turned to straddle her._ Jesus Christ_, this girl was gorgeous. With her hair all disheveled and her eyes hooded and looking down towards Emily's shirt and that fucking top button undone on that shirt that had looked so fucking good on Naomi that day that Emily had fantasized about ripping it off immediately. It had taunted Emily all fucking day during the real thing, and now that she was in her dream she acted on what she actually wanted to do, grabbing that top button and yanking so the shirt ripped open completely. The buttons went flying and pinged off windows but she couldn't honestly give a fuck, especially not when Naomi was tugging on the bottom of her t-shirt and pulling the cloth up and over her head. As soon as the fabric was gone Naomi's face was in her cleavage, kissing the space between her breasts, trailing her tongue over Emily's collarbone and ending with a gentle bite to the underside of her jaw.

"_Consumed with what's to transpire." _

Emily threw her head back and buried her hands in Naomi's hair, enjoying the little moan Naomi made against her neck when she tugged gently at the roots. Naomi's hands trailed up to brush across the sides of her breasts and Emily couldn't stop herself from grinding down into Naomi's lap, seeking friction almost desperately.

Naomi lifted her head and Emily leaned down to kiss her; not the chaste brushing of lips from the night of the wedding but a kiss so hot Emily felt a small bonfire start in the pit of her stomach. It was hard and rough, all tongues and teeth and passion, and Emily loved every bit of it. She brought her hands up to cup Naomi's face and slowed it down, taking advantage of Naomi catching her breath to place little kisses on first her top lip, then her bottom one, sucking on the bottom gently until Naomi moaned again and pressed in for a deeper kiss.

Two words were gasped into Emily's mouth and she couldn't make them out over the buzzing in her head. She placed one final kiss against Naomi's lips and pulled back. _"What?" _she heard herself ask from very far away.

Naomi leaned her head against the back of the seat and her eyes opened. They looked up at Emily, bright and blue and focused. _"You're beautiful," _she said again, and this time Emily heard it clearly.

Tears pricked the back of her eyes and she hastily blinked them away, refusing to have anything block her seeing Naomi look up at her like that. She leaned back down and this time it was soft and gentle when she kissed Naomi, as she wrapped her arms around the back of the seat and tried to mold her body as close to Naomi's as possible. But even kissing her she couldn't shake the image of those blue eyes staring straight into her soul, seeing every piece that made her who she was and accepting all of it, loving and cherishing every bit of it with an intensity that was mind-blowing.

She couldn't be projecting these feelings. She just couldn't be.

"_I love you_," she whispered into the kiss, because she couldn't say it out loud, not in real life, but she could say it here, where only her own ears and her love for Naomi could hear it.

"_I know." _

Of course she did.

* * *

><p><em>THWACK. THWACK. <em>

_THWACK!_

Emily clawed at the pillow as it hit her face a third time and bounced off. She inhaled and all she got was fabric, so she wound up coughing and shoving the pillow off of her.

"What the _fuck _Katie!" she screeched. Every part of her body was throbbing, specifically her heart. She could feel her pulse everywhere: in her throat, at her wrists, in her stomach. Blood pumped lethargically through her body as it remembered it wasn't supposed to just be between her legs.

Very vaguely she registered her alarm buzzing somewhere over her head. Oh, so _that's _what that buzzing sound was. It had been getting in the way of her Naomi dream.

Something else that got in the way of her Naomi dream? Her fucking sister, hitting her in the face with a pillow. She wondered if homicide was legal in England if you claimed you were provoked. She could just tell the court that Katie had interrupted a sex dream about Naomi. No lesbian on the jury would convict.

Katie rolled her eyes dramatically. "Yeah, fuck is the operative word. As in, I don't need to listen to you getting one. You were fucking moaning and shit. There are some things about my little sister I just don't need to know."

Emily threw her covers off and ignored her sister in favor of rooting around her pile of clean clothes. She went through a process of picking up and discarding several things by just throwing them back, including her favorite band t-shirt that she studied for a moment before tossing it back into the pile. Eventually she came up for air holding a blue plaid button-up and a pair of black jeans.

Katie snorted. "If that outfit could get any more lesbian hipster, please tell me."

"You could give useful advice, you know."

"Why are you worrying about your clothes? It's not like Naomi can enjoy the view."

"Can you just _stop!_"

Emily whirled around to glare at her sister, eyes flashing dangerously. Katie blinked at her. She was probably surprised by the intensity of Emily's reaction, but then again so was Emily. Katie's words had sparked the memory of Naomi's eyes in the dream, and the way they had pierced right through her, and she'd just reacted without thought.

"Sorry," Katie grumbled petulantly. "What's got your knickers in a twist today?"

Emily took a deep breath and let it out again, feeling some of her annoyance flow out as well. "Nothing," she said. "I was just having a really good dream is all."

She groaned as Katie's face broke into a smug grin and her sister spun around to completely face her as she curled her legs underneath herself. "Was Naomi good?" she asked slyly.

"What? I don't – I mean – how –" Emily blushed violently as her dream surged forward and started replaying in vivid, high-definition detail. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and pressed her legs together. "How did you know it was Naomi?"

"I didn't," Katie said, her smug grin growing exponentially, "until you just said so."

Emily's jaw dropped and she gaped at her sister. Holy…that was manipulative. That was cleverly manipulative and a little Effy-like, to be honest. She was torn between being annoyed and being impressed. She settled on annoyed and scowled at Katie. "I'm going to take a shower," she said stiffly. "Do you want a ride to school?"

"No," Katie waved the offer away, "I don't mind bussing it. Besides, you're going to go pick up Naomi anyway and there's not enough room on your lesbian joy ride for all of us."

Emily rolled her eyes and grabbed a clean towel. She was halfway into the hall when Katie called after her.

"Oh, and if you're going to finish yourself off in the shower try not to moan Naomi's name too loudly, yeah? That's another thing I don't need to hear."

Emily slammed the door behind her so hard the hinges rattled and the 'sexy' sign fell off of the nail that Katie had convinced their father to hammer in. She kicked it away and opened the door to shout, "Stop spending so much fucking time with Effy!" at her sister before she slammed the door shut again and stalked off down the hall.

James stuck his head out into the hall, his hair still sticking all over the place, and said, "What'd Katie just say about you and Naomi and a shower?"

She kicked him and felt marginally better.

* * *

><p>She felt even better after she was showered and dressed and on her moped racing away from her house, and not just because of activities that may or may not have happened in the shower.<p>

Her mum had been acting weird ever since Sunday night and Fitch Family Dinner. She hadn't been as aggressive as normal, and Emily could not recall one fight they'd had in the last week. The closest they got was on Tuesday, but even then her mother had backed down and simply asked her to go clean her side of the room instead. And sometimes, when her mother thought she wasn't looking, her mum would stare at her. Not in a disgusted way, but in a thoughtful way.

It was kind of creeping her out, honestly.

She barely even had to think about the route to Naomi's house anymore. It was literally one turn, a ride that she could actually drive in her sleep, which was convenient considering how long it took her to wake up some mornings. Naomi had started waiting for her outside the house each morning, which made her stomach flutter with butterflies, and so she knew when she turned the corner and pulled up into the driveway that Naomi would be sitting on the front porch.

Sure enough, there she was. Emily parked up and took a moment to blatantly stare at her best friend in a way that went so far beyond friendship it was ridiculous. Naomi was leaning back on her elbows with her head tilted to the sky, vaguely reminiscent of the first time Emily had drawn her on the school steps. Her jeans had a few worn places along the knees, her grey jacket looked comfy as fuck, and Emily thought she could see a bit of green peeking out from underneath. Her white trainers bounced against the pavement as she tapped her foot to whatever song was on her iPod and Emily couldn't stop her heart from melting.

She was wearing a beige knitted beanie, with her blonde hair a little wet and curling underneath it, and her nose was scrunched up as she mouthed along the words to the song. She was wearing a _cute beanie. _

How did the world not explode with the amount of adorable this girl projected into it on a daily basis?

She approached carefully so she wouldn't scare her, since Naomi was pretty wrapped up in the music, but she must have only had one earbud in because her head tilted down towards Emily as she approached.

Emily beamed at her, and for a split second she expected Naomi to push up her sunglasses and smile back, to tuck her hair behind her ear and meet Emily's eyes and say she liked her outfit. It wasn't until Naomi cocked her head slightly to the side the way she always did when she was trying to distinguish someone by their footsteps and then grinned at a spot slightly to the left of her that Emily remembered.

It is comforting to realize that nightmares are not real; it is painful to remember that neither are dreams.

Emily was getting way too good at repressing her feelings around Naomi, because it was absurdly easy for her to push down the crushing disappointment that threatened to break her heart in two and say instead, "New sunglasses?"

Naomi smiled her 'Emily' smile and any bad feelings disappeared completely, washed away by the affectionate quirk of Naomi's lips.

She'd spent a lot of time recently just looking at Naomi's face (which probably meant she should give herself all the Stalker Points in the world and then in the event that more would be needed she could take all of the sketches she'd made of Naomi recently and turn them into _more _Stalker Points), but she just couldn't help it. Naomi had a wonderfully expressive face and Emily was quickly becoming an expert at telling the emotions apart.

For instance, she had a different smile for different people. The general population got a politely cold smile and nothing else. Freddie, Thomas, and JJ all got slightly different versions of the friendly smile she gave to people she liked. Cook's smile was two parts annoyance and one part affection; Effy's was two parts affection and one part annoyance. Panda's smile was tolerant and slightly wistful, while Katie's was accompanied by an eyebrow quirk. But Emily liked her smile the most, obviously since it was just for her and no one else: a gentle upward tick of the corner of Naomi's mouth that slowly morphed into a crooked grin.

She noticed a lot of other tiny things about Naomi too. Her fingers always moved when she was nervous, fiddling with her glasses or the edges of her clothes or rubbing at the back of her head. If she got startled by a loud noise some kind of physical contact calmed her down almost immediately. Her right eyebrow had this way of tilting up when she was amused and trying not to show it. She bit her lip when she was thinking hard or was trying to stop herself from saying something. She always ran her hand through her hair when she was frustrated. Her hand came up to trace a tiny scar just below her ear when she wasn't thinking about it. Her eyes cycled through emotions and colors when she was reading, just like anyone else's: dark with apprehension to light with playfulness to bright with mirth and back again. Emily could spend a whole day watching her read.

The list of things that Emily knew about Naomi Campbell was far too extensive.

"Thought I'd try out a different style," Naomi answered, tapping the aviator glasses with one finger.

"Looks good. What's on the playlist?" she asked as Naomi stood up and dusted off her jeans, fully aware that Naomi's taste in music changed with her mood. One day Naomi had been pissy as hell and you could hear the Linkin Park blasting through her headphones from a mile away.

"Mumford & Sons."

"No way!" Emily grinned widely and hooked her arm to lead Naomi to the moped, even though it was just a few feet away. "What song?"

She really liked that there were still things she didn't know about Naomi, like that she listened to Mumford & Sons. She really liked that she could be constantly surprised by the things that came out of her mouth.

Naomi smiled her crooked half-smile again. There was something a little sad about it. "Winter Winds."

Emily frowned as she tried to place the song, but couldn't quite remember it. She knew she'd heard it before but the lyrics were fuzzy in her head. She shrugged as she slid onto the seat in front of Naomi. "Let's listen on the way, then."

"How do you expect to do that?"

She reached back and grabbed part of the headphones out of Naomi's hands, wriggling the right earbud up inside her helmet and squishing it in. "There," she said. "Now you use one too and we'll be sorted."

"Gee, Naomi, you think I could borrow half of your headphones? Thank you ever so," Naomi mocked gently.

Emily revved the engine and shot forward a bit. Naomi shrieked and quickly wrapped her arms around Emily's stomach.

"I hate it when you do that!" she said, but she was laughing.

"I only do it when you deserve it," Emily retorted.

"You do it all the time!"

"Exactly." Emily giggled at the indignant squeak from her passenger. "You holding on tight now?"

Naomi squeezed her waist for emphasis. "Yes."

"Good." Emily turned out of the driveway and accelerated, enjoying the feeling of Naomi pressing tightly against her back and she leaned her head so their helmets bumped together. Whenever they rode on her moped Naomi felt the need to be as close as possible. Emily figured it was because she still didn't trust that the moped would not one day kill her, and she wasn't complaining.

Her only problem was that it was very distracting, and even more so since Naomi's hands had a tendency to wander. Not on purpose, she was sure, it was probably just that keeping your hands in one spot was boring and tiring, but how was she supposed to concentrate when Naomi's hands would hook into her pockets or slide up to the top of her stomach?

She almost jumped when the music started to play in her ear. Then she recognized the opening chords and she smiled. She was right; she _had _heard this song before. Emily found herself mouthing along to the words as they drove while Naomi hummed in her ear.

"_As the winter winds litter London with lonely hearts, oh the warmth in your eyes swept me into your arms. Was it love or fear of the cold that led us through the night? For every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt." _

She was startled again when Naomi sang the chorus low and sweet in her ear as they twisted around the cars in traffic, occasionally getting beeped at. Emily didn't even flip them off like she normally would have. How could she, with Naomi singing to her?

"_And my head told my heart 'let love grow'. And my heart told my head 'this time no, this time no'." _

* * *

><p>Effy met them by the east entrance to walk Naomi to class, since Emily had a free period that morning while Effy and Naomi had history class first thing. Naomi hopped off the moped and placed her helmet carefully against the seat like it was going to hold her spot. Emily bit her lip to keep herself from smiling.<p>

"Bye darling," she cooed sweetly. "Have a good day at school."

Naomi flipped her off and Emily laughed, which made Naomi giggle right back. Effy rolled her eyes and grabbed Naomi's arm. "You act more like a couple than Thomas and Pandora sometimes, I swear to God," Effy scoffed.

Emily glared at Effy so fiercely that it was surprising Effy didn't burst into flames on the spot. Her friend didn't even turn around to acknowledge the glare, just lifted her hand and waved cheekily as she guided Naomi away. Emily scowled and started up her moped again, bringing Naomi's helmet around to sit between her legs so it wouldn't fly off and frowning as she heard the clanking sound the engine made when it started up. She hoped that was just a one-off thing and nothing was wrong with it.

She parked up and grabbed some books from her locker before heading into the library. She nodded at the librarian, who barely looked up from her newspaper to acknowledge her, and made her way to the back corner of the library where she usually read to Naomi. There was a particularly squishy armchair back there that she liked and it was hidden behind the stacks right near the windows so she would have fresh air and sunshine if she wanted it. Spending an hour curled up reading, surrounded by peaceful quiet and the smell of books did not sound like a bad way to start her morning at all. She opened the window and settled down to read.

That is until her text notification pinged loudly in the silence. She smacked her phone to quiet it and then quickly put it on vibrate, her eyes glancing around to see if the librarian was going to pop up out of nowhere and pummel her to death with a copy of Great Expectations.

She glared down at the source of the interruption and almost groaned out loud. A text from Effy. Like those ever ended well.

_**You don't have a class this morning. **_

**How very observant of you**, Emily responded, **would you like to recite my work schedule too? **

_**You woke up an hour early just to bring Naomi to school, didn't you? **_

_Yes_, she thought sheepishly. **No**, she texted back stubbornly.

She put her phone back in her pocket and was three paragraphs into her book when it vibrated again. She dropped her book back into her lap and sighed.

_**You missed out on sleep just so you wouldn't miss out on a morning of Naomi riding bitch on the way to school. That's priceless.**_

Emily frowned at her phone. **Pay attention in class. And don't call it riding bitch. **

_**What's the matter, Ems? Wish she was riding Fitch instead? **_

Emily blushed so hotly she half-expected steam to start pouring out of her ears, and she started breathing in shallow bursts as her body vividly remembered her dream and unhelpfully supplied her with the appropriate physical reactions. **That was vulgar. **

_**This reminds me of a song. **_

Emily rolled her eyes. **Something by Nickelback? **

_**No, older than that. Sweeter.**_There was a pause between texts, long enough for Emily to get curious. _**A dream is a wish your heart makes…**_

Did Elizabeth Stonem actually know everything? Did she have spies that constantly circled around overhead, reporting everything back to her in a timely fashion? Emily was honestly scared for a moment that Effy had the ability to read minds, before a far more mundane explanation presented itself.

She tapped on her keys so hard she was surprised she didn't break the phone. _**Do your mornings always consist of wake up, take a shower, drink coffee, talk to Katie? **_

**Usually. So you liked the outfit I put her in for dinner on Sunday, then? **

_**Fuck you, Eff. **_

**Going take that as a yes. **

_Bloody hell, fuck Effy_. Now she was completely turned on in the middle of the library, her brain filled with nothing but thoughts of Naomi and scenarios of the same kind as her dream, this time with less clothes and more movement, and there was nothing she could think of that would cool her down.

"You're looking fit this morning, Ems," Mandy purred as she sat on the arm of the chair across from Emily.

…that would do it.

"Good morning, Mandy," Emily said politely, tucking her phone between her thigh and the arm of the chair, making sure to keep the screen tilted up at her. She kept her eyes firmly focused on her book and continued reading, trying desperately to ignore the burning sensation of Mandy staring at her. She managed that for a full thirty seconds before she tilted her head up to the ceiling and stifled a sigh. When she looked back down she managed to catch Mandy's eyes flickering over her body. Her skin crawled a little. "Can I help you with something?

"I'm sure you can," Mandy dropped heavily from the arm into the chair itself and Emily had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from protesting that that was Naomi's seat. "My problem is that I've got no plans for tonight."

Emily reluctantly gave up on her book and packed it way, since Mandy showed no signs of taking the multiple hints that Emily was throwing at her and vacating the library. She knew she was spending too much time with Naomi when her automatic response to Mandy was sarcasm. "I can't imagine why," she said, clicking her tongue against her teeth.

Mandy's eyes narrowed but she stuck her chin out stubbornly and kept going on. "Well, a little birdy told me you and your troop are hitting up that new club off of Rochester tonight."

Emily blinked. She couldn't fathom how Mandy could possibly know that. "That seems to be the plan," she said neutrally.

There was another extended silence before Mandy sighed and leaned forward a little, putting her elbows on her knees, and Emily purposefully kept herself from looking down at what she was sure was an open view of Mandy's chest on display. When Emily's eyes stayed firmly on her face her smirk faltered momentarily. "Effy's always on the list," she said.

Effy was never on a list. Effy was just the type of person that people wanted in their clubs.

"So?"

"So I figured I could be your date for tonight."

"I already have a date for tonight," Emily said quickly. It wasn't even a lie, since everyone was going together as a group.

"Who?" Mandy's smirk morphed into a scowl and Emily practically saw the light bulb appear above her head. "Oh, right. _Naomi_."

Emily's spine stiffened at the amount of venom Mandy imbued in Naomi's name. She met Mandy's eyes and shrugged, neither confirming nor denying the accusation. Let Mandy think what she wanted.

Mandy snorted unattractively. "Sunk to lusting after straight girls, Ems?"

Emily was getting ready to snap at her for the familiar nickname when her phone vibrated against her leg. Her eyes flicked down to it. _Group text from Cook_: **Headz up every1 Panda sez Mandeh iz prowlin. **She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Thanks for the warning, wanker.

"I'm not lusting after anybody, for once," she said, her eyes occasionally flicking back to her phone. It was blowing up now as a few acknowledgments got mass-texted back when people responded. It would be impossibly rude to answer for herself so she didn't, but she kept an eye on the conversation anyway.

Mandy scooted just a little closer and reached out to touch Emily's wrist. "You're lonely, Emily," she said. "I can see it. Why won't you let me help? I want to help."

"Your version of help and mine are wildly different," Emily said. She shifted her hand to the side and Mandy's fingers fell onto her knee instead. Well, that was counter-productive.

Thankfully Mandy moved it a second later as she leaned back in her chair and scowled again. "And you think your precious perfect Naomi can help more?"

_She already has_, she thought, thinking of the holes in her heart that Naomi filled simply by existing. She raised an eyebrow at Mandy and frowned. "I never mentioned Naomi," she pointed out. "Although you've now done it twice."

Her eyes flicked down to her phone again. _Group text from JJ: _**Why hasn't Emily responded? **

"And what the fuck is going on with your phone that is so much more interesting than me?" Mandy snapped.

Listening to JJ recite the entire detailed plot of the Lord of the Rings series would be more interesting than talking to Mandy at the moment. Iron self-control was the only thing that stopped Emily from saying that, and then she was thankful for it when she looked down to see what her friends had responded to that with.

Cook was first. **Fuck it were too l8**, he said.

**Mandy's got her! **Panda replied, with lots of exclamation points and one keyboard smash she was pretty sure Panda hadn't meant to put in.

**TROLLLL IN THE DUNGEON, **was Freddie's addition.

Katie's reply was sent directly to her phone instead of to everyone. **Hold on Ems we're coming for you. **

**Naomi's got a rescue plan**, Effy said to the whole group.

"Emily!"

Emily's head snapped up and she grimaced at the thunderous look on Mandy's face. Perhaps annoying her was not the best way to go about getting her to leave peacefully. She couldn't help it, though, when her friends were being _ridiculous. _

Shit, Mandy was still staring at her waiting for an answer, and the more Emily struggled to find one the harder she glared. She wanted Mandy to back off and move on, find someone else to lust after, but she didn't want to end on a sour note. She'd already hurt enough people in her life and even if Mandy was obnoxious and annoying she refused to hurt her feelings just for the sake of making her go away.

But _my God _did she wish the other girl would just fuck right off. Mostly because she couldn't concentrate on giving her a straight answer when she could barely keep a straight face, because she just had images in her head of her friends huddled in a little circle trying to plot a Mission Impossible-style rescue plan and it made her want to giggle.

Not only that, Mandy had the most horrible timing in the world, most often interrupting her thoughts when she was in the middle of thinking about Naomi. It's like the other girl had some sort of radar that told her when Emily was happy and she immediately dropped everything in order to put a stop to that. And okay, maybe Emily wouldn't go skipping off into fields of wildflowers with Naomi once Mandy was out of the picture, but at least she would be able to fantasize about it in peace.

"You're not even willing to give me a chance, are you?" Mandy snapped.

Emily scrambled. "Mandy…I…" She faltered a little and then thought of blue eyes and a sweet smile. "No," she said firmly. "I'm sorry but that ship sailed a long time ago. There isn't anything between us and there isn't going to be."

She felt guilty as she watched Mandy's face crumble at the very solid rejection that Emily gave her. Not guilty enough to take back her words, though. Mandy looked at her for a long moment; not glaring, just a kind of narrow appraising stare.

"Fine," she said, sitting straight up and crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You want to chase after your Naomi, then that's fine," she overrode Emily's voice when she started to protest Naomi's inclusion in the conversation again, "but I'm not going to give up. She's going to break your heart, Emily, and when she does you're going to need someone to pick up the pieces."

Emily had no answer to that. How could she be expected to respond, when Mandy was staring at her with all the fervor of a religious fanatic? When had it reached that point? Maybe she should have been more firm with her before, maybe she'd been unintentionally leading her on by not rejecting her outright, but since the party (since Naomi entered her life, really) she'd told Mandy off twice now, and still the girl persisted.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish as she struggled to find words. She didn't know whether she wanted to send Mandy away or keep her there and call the nice men in white.

"Fitch twin!"

Emily looked over at the stacks and blinked in surprise. Kieran loomed in the aisle between two racks of shelves, looking scruffy and bored as he eyed the two of them suspiciously. He was glaring, which was an impression she'd never seen on his face before. Sure he scowled, but never a glare.

"Yes?" she blurted out, and then tacked on to the end after his glare intensified, "Sir?"

"Just who I was looking for." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You didn't hand in the first draft of your essay."

"What?" Emily's jaw dropped. She absolutely had, and she'd even emailed it to him to be safe. She told him that.

"Then you're coming back to my classroom and showing me the email to prove it or you're failing that part," Kieran shrugged nonchalantly, and then to Emily's surprise he caught her eye and winked.

Emily almost laughed at herself. Kieran was a surprisingly good actor, but hadn't Effy just texted to say that Naomi had a rescue plan in mind? She made a face and scrunched up her mouth so she wouldn't smile.

"Yes, sir," she said grumpily. She gathered up her bags and turned to look at Mandy again.

Mandy looked surprised and disappointed, and her jaw set when she saw Emily looking at her. "I meant what I said," she started to say, one hand held out towards Emily.

"Now, Fitch!" Kieran ordered as he turned on his heel and left. Emily followed obediently, running a little to keep up with his longer strides.

Neither of them said anything as Kieran led her back to his classroom until they got inside and he shut the door. She caught his eye and they both burst into laughter.

"You should have seen the look on your face," he guffawed.

"You're an ass, Kieran," Emily accused as she wiped some wetness from the corners of her eyes. "I thought you were genuinely upset with me."

"In order to be upset about you missing coursework, I would have to give a fuck about whether you missed coursework." He settled back behind his desk and started digging around in the drawers, coming up with a small ball. He leaned back in his chair and started throwing it against the wall and catching it again. "Wait for the signal and then you can go. And tell Naomi I expect those pints of Guinness in my hands by five o'clock sharp."

"What signal?" Emily asked. Just as the question came out of her mouth she heard a soft "Cacaw!" drift in through the open window. And then again, louder: "Cacaw!"

Kieran stopped tossing the ball around and looked at the window strangely. "Naomi's new friends are weird," he said finally.

Emily snorted.

Panda's head popped up in the window to check and make sure that Emily was actually in the room, and then she disappeared again. Emily heard whispering noises and then a voice that was clearly JJ's said, "The smoke monster resides in a green paradise."

When she stuck her head out the window to look down, JJ and Panda were gone, although she did manage to catch a flash of rainbow color as it turned the corner. Shaking her head and smiling, she thanked Kieran for the rescue and left.

Just as she suspected the group was on the college green passing a spliff between them. Freddie waved lazily as she joined them.

"I don't think this is what those signs mean when they ask us to help keep the college 'green'," Emily snarked as she dropped into the empty space between Katie and Naomi. Her hand landed so close to Naomi's that she almost reached out and grabbed it, but stopped herself at the last second. When she looked up again Effy was studying her closely.

Freddie handed her the spliff and she took a drag gratefully. "We're interpreting it loosely," he informed her after he blew out a ring of smoke.

"So did Kieran get there in time?" Effy asked.

"Not really. She'd already been there a while before you lot figured out I needed rescuing." She shrugged like it didn't matter, but Effy's eyes focused and narrowed.

"Anything I need to kick her ass about?" Katie glared and looked around as if Mandy was going to appear suddenly out of the grass so that she could get walloped.

Emily shrugged again and plucked a few pieces of grass from the ground. She let them drop through her fingers and float back down to disappear among their brethren again. "Nothing she hasn't said before," she said.

She felt pressure on her hand and glanced down. Naomi had hooked two fingers around Emily's pinky and ring finger and was squeezing lightly. When Emily looked up she saw Naomi turned towards her with such sweet concern all over her face that it made her heart beat faster inside her chest.

"God, Ems, you should just tell her to fuck off!" Katie snapped, breaking her out of her happy Naomi bubble.

Emily smiled. "I did."

"What?"

"I told her to fuck off. I mean, more politely than that, but that was basically the gist." She decided to keep the fact that Mandy hadn't listened to herself.

"Shit. Doug!" Cook warned.

Effy, who had the spliff, smoothly put it behind her back as Harriet's right-hand man ambled past them. He stopped and Emily held her breath as he studied them for a moment. She was pretty sure that the wind had carried away most of the traces of weed, but you could never be positive. Anyway she was glad it was Doug and not Harriet, because out of the two administrators he was more likely to be clueless.

He proved that when he smiled at them and nodded, seemingly finding nothing wrong with a whole group of students out on the green when most of them should be in class. "No hats on school grounds please, Miss Campbell," was all he said before he wandered away again.

Everyone in the group started to breathe again collectively, and Naomi frowned. "Really?" she said incredulously, "That's what he was worried about?"

The bell rang in the distance and Emily sighed. She twisted her grip on Naomi's hand to she could pull her friend to her feet. "That's us for English then," she said. She reached up and snatched Naomi's hat off her head.

"Hey!" Naomi grabbed for it and pouted adorably when Emily tugged it out of reach.

Emily put it in Naomi's bag and reached up, running her hands through Naomi's hair and playing around with it until her messy hat-hair was gone and it lay flat again.

Naomi brought her hand up to her hair and smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, Em."

"Always."

* * *

><p>The end of the school day saw Emily riding home on her moped by herself.<p>

Naomi had been very firmly kidnapped by Katie and Effy, since according to Katie when Naomi had said that Katie could dress her up for their night out that meant they had to go get a new outfit. Emily, who knew exactly how her sister could get about shopping, quickly said that she had to go get her scooter checked.

That wasn't actually a lie. The machine had made another clunking sound when she started it up again and she really _did _want to get it looked at.

She was still grinning at the look of horror on Naomi's face when she'd realized what she'd gotten herself into, when the handles of the scooter wobbled dangerously underneath her hands. She put on the brakes immediately and pulled to the side of the road, letting her shoes skim along to keep balance as the steering wobbled again.

"Fucking hell!" she cursed as she coasted to a stop. She wasn't anywhere near where the shop they usually took their car was.

She quickly glanced around, and as luck would have it there was a petrol station nearby with a garage off the side of it. She could see a few cars parked in the lot and one propped up in the garage. Thanking her father for every time that he ever made her go on the naughty bar, she pushed her moped down the road and into the garage. The sound of metal clinking together and cursing told her that someone was inside of it, but when she looked around she saw no one.

She leaned her moped against its kickstand. "Hello?"

"Be out in a second."

Emily looked down and saw a pair of legs sticking out from underneath a car. They were clad in the shortest shorts she'd ever seen, and when the owner of the voice pushed herself out from underneath the automobile Emily saw a tank top that was riding up a little bit, toned arms with a tattoo down one bicep, a grease stain smudged across a tanned cheek, and the blue eyes of a brunette girl a few years older than herself.

Blue eyes that were currently laughing at her.

"Good perve?" the girl asked.

Emily fought to keep herself from blushing. "I wasn't – " she started to defend herself, except she totally was and she'd been caught, so instead she finished with, "there's something wrong with my moped."

The girl winked at her and wiped her hands off on a nearby towel before she turned to look at Emily's baby, abruptly all business. Emily watched studying her moped nervously; it kind of felt like she was bringing her first child to the doctor because it had a cough.

Her phone _pinged! _and she snorted as she looked down and saw a new text message.

_**I cannot believe you left me with them. N xx**_

She smiled. **Suck it up. Imagine 17 years of that. E x**

"Who's Naomi?" the girl asked suddenly.

Emily looked up from her phone and stared at the girl for a second, jaw hanging like an idiot, until the girl motioned towards the seat of her moped and grinned. "I was going to sit down," she elaborated, "but apparently it's not allowed."

_Oh, that_. Emily smiled at her moped. It already had a few random decorations on it when she got it (the most noticeable being a big smiley face sticker on the back) and so Wednesday afternoon the gang had decided they were going to personalize it themselves. JJ had drawn a little graph around the gas meter to remind her the best time to change it, Panda had doodled a girl on the front, Cook had thought it was fun to put a big rainbow sticker next to the smiley face, and underneath that her sister had written "The Lezmobile" in big block letters. Thomas had added stickers of bands, Effy had written words along the pedals almost too tiny to make out, and Freddie had drawn flames along the muffler.

But Naomi's was the best. She'd gotten a few stencils and went straight over to the seat, getting Effy to help her out (and ordering Emily away until she was done), and when Emily was finally allowed to see it she didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or cry. Naomi had stenciled "Naomi's spot. Don't you fucking dare!" onto the seat.

"No one else in the world is allowed to ride there?" Emily had teased around a tight throat.

"Nope, just me," Naomi had beamed at her.

Emily shook her head and brought herself back to the present where the mechanic was watching her curiously.

"Girlfriend?" the girl asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"No," Emily answered a little too quickly and a bit too unconvincingly. "My best friend."

"Hmm," she gave her a look that said she didn't quite believe her and Emily bristled. "Well, I'll still be sure to obey the rules," the girl said with a teasing glint in her eye. She rounded the other side of the moped and stooped down to check something underneath the front wheel. Emily averted her eyes to fight the temptation to check out her ass. She texted Naomi instead.

_**How's the outfit coming along? E x**_

**You're a traitor, Emily Fitch. N xx **

"Looks like you've just managed to knock something loose under there. Five minutes and it's fixed," the girl said cheerfully as she stood up.

Emily quickly dropped her phone away from her face so she didn't seem rude. She smiled at the girl. "Great! What do I owe you?"

"Thirty," the girl said. She looked at Emily and her eyes raked up her body from her shoes to her eyes. "Or nothing and you come out with me tonight."

Emily separated her life into two sections nowadays: BN and AN. BN (Before Naomi) she would have said yes to this girl. The girl was gorgeous, confident, and obviously gay if she was asking Emily on a date. Normally she would have jumped all over that offer, figuratively and literally. But she lived in AN (After Naomi) now and all she thought was: _your eyes are the wrong shade of blue_.

Just as she opened her mouth to answer her phone went off again. It was Naomi asking if she was going to come save her from Katie at any point in the near future. A smile snuck onto her face without permission. When she looked back up the mechanic had one eyebrow raised at her.

"The best friend?" she asked, motioning to Emily's phone.

Emily blushed again. "Yes."

The girl tilted her head to look at Emily's home screen, which just happened to be a picture of herself, Naomi, Katie, Effy, and Panda. They were all squished together in a booth at Keith's pub. Katie was caught in between Effy and Panda, the three of them pressing their heads close together so they could all fit in the shot, and Emily was leaning back into Naomi, who had her arm wrapped around her.

"You make cute 'best friends'," the mechanic girl smiled at her, the air quotes palpable. She pulled back and smiled wider when Emily glared at her. "So, about my proposition?"

It only took looking at Naomi's latest text (_**No seriously help me N xx**_) for Emily to know her answer. "I can't," she said apologetically. "Sorry."

The girl's mouth scrunched up a little bit and she nodded before she went to work on Emily's moped. It took her maybe five minutes to fix it, and she wrote out a receipt for Emily when she took her money. Instead of handing it to her, though, she reached over and slid it into Emily's pocket.

"If the best friend thing doesn't work out, give me a call," the girl said as she sauntered away.

Emily pulled the paper out of her pocket and looked at it for a moment. Underneath the actual receipt was a string of numbers and the name 'Jen' in neat cursive. She pulled her helmet down onto her head and revved her engine, but she didn't want to seem like a bitch, so she waved at Jen, shoved the paper into the pocket of her jacket, and promptly forgot about it entirely as she drove off.

* * *

><p>"If you lot don't hurry up we're going to be waiting in line forever!" Emily shouted up the stairs.<p>

They'd been hanging out in the foyer of the Campbell house for the last fifteen minutes as Katie and Effy and Naomi finished getting ready. Gina had offered for them to sit in the living room but they'd turned the suggestion down, since the three girls were supposed to be right down. This was Katie Fitch, however, and nothing happened on time with that girl, at least not where clothes were concerned.

It hadn't taken Emily herself long to get ready at all: she'd thrown on dark skinny jeans and a black top that she actually stole from Katie, sleeveless and made of a light meshy material that hung off one shoulder and had a swooping neckline. She straightened her hair and put on smoky eye makeup; some black ankle boots with a significant heel and a silver necklace with a key dangling from it completed the look and that was all she needed.

Except now she was sitting in the hall with the boys and Panda while the three of them dawdled upstairs. Bear was sitting obediently at her feet with his head on her knee, eyes closed in satisfaction as she scratched him behind the ears. Finally, though, she pushed his head off her knee and went up the stairs.

She could hear Naomi's hairdryer whirring through the partially open door, and Katie and Effy talking quietly in her room. She slowed down and stopped altogether just before she got to the top, keeping just out of sight and turning her head to the door so she could hear the conversation better. Eavesdropping was wrong, she shouldn't do it, she was…totally curious.

"…so fucking stubborn, the both of them." That was Katie, her lisp more pronounced as she tried to keep her voice down. Emily couldn't imagine what they were talking about. Who was stubborn?

"So we use one of the most powerful emotional motivators known to man," Effy's voice answered, even more quietly.

"Love?" Katie asked.

"Jealousy."

Emily leaned forward some more and tripped, falling onto her knees at the top of the stairs. She pulled herself up before the door flew open all the way and hoped it looked like she'd just gotten to the top.

_Smooth, Emily. Nice. Queen of subtlety._

"Are you ready to go now?" she snapped when Katie and Effy both poked their heads out of Naomi's room to look at her. Effy's face said she wasn't fooled but she didn't say anything and seemed to let it slide.

"Naomi's just finishing up, yeah?" Katie said, rolling her eyes and walking back into Naomi's room. Emily followed obediently. "Perfection takes time."

_Not when you're already perfect_, Emily thought, just as she heard the hair dryer shut off in the bathroom.

Perfection is defined as being free, or as free as possible, from all flaws or defects. Therefore by its very definition perfection cannot be improved upon, and Emily believed that up until the moment that Naomi stepped out of the bathroom and she was no longer capable of forming coherent thought, let alone coherent words. A small noise formed in the back of her throat and escaped her mouth, which she realized belatedly was hanging open, as her eyes widened in their attempt to absorb the sheer perfection before her in the form of Naomi Campbell.

Emily had seen Naomi in sweatpants, in jeans and a t-shirt, absolutely breathtaking all done up for the wedding, but apparently all of that paled in comparison to Naomi when Katie Fitch got her way.

The tight black leggings made her long legs look like they went on forever, and the bottom of her silky blue top hugged her hips while the top exposed her neck and part of her collarbone. The blue of the shirt and the dark makeup around her eyes made them pop, and her hair was straight and silky. Naomi bit her lip shyly and Emily had no idea what her body wanted to be doing it was thrown into so much havoc, but it was definitely something involving being as close to Naomi as possible.

Katie cleared her throat and Emily abruptly remembered that her sister and Effy were in the room too. For once she was glad that Naomi couldn't see her, since she had absolutely no doubt that she'd just given away the depth of her true feelings, especially if Katie's glib expression and Effy's smug smirk were anything to go by.

"Did you bring the lipstick I wanted?" Katie asked. The sound of her sister's voice seemed too loud for the room to Emily, although she was sure Katie was just talking normally.

"Yeah, in the right pocket," Emily glanced at Katie just long enough to toss her jacket to her without completely taking her eyes off Naomi. The longer she stared at Naomi the higher Effy's eyebrows inched upwards, but Emily was beyond the point of caring.

"Do I look okay?" Naomi asked, and Emily's world narrowed again. It wasn't about the lust anymore, but about the fact that Naomi could make the rest of the world cease to exist.

"You look great," she managed to get out.

"Um, excuse me?" Katie scoffed, offended. "Great? She looks fucking stunning, thank you very much. If I wasn't so completely into cock I'd almost consider going gay for her looking the way she does right now."

The wave of jealousy that surged through her body was completely irrational. It was ridiculous, it was _Katie _for crying out loud, but she couldn't help the possessive little devil that reared its ugly head when Katie said that. She beat the feelings down and shook herself out of it.

"Katie's right," she said, smiling when she saw Naomi's blush deepen. "You _are _stunning." She almost bit her tongue when she stammered over the last word and resisted the urge to kick herself.

Naomi's answering smile made her insides melt, and of course like most things it was interrupted when her sister finally finished digging around in her jacket for her lipstick case and came up with a piece of paper in her hand instead.

_Fuck_, the receipt from the mechanic girl. She'd kept it because she needed to show their dad the repairs to her moped and just forgotten to throw it out afterward, and now Katie was looking at her with the spark in her eyes that never preceded anything good.

"Who's Jen?" Katie asked, drawing the 'e' out for as many syllables as possible as she waved the piece of paper in the air, "And why do you have her mobile number?"

Emily's eyes flickered over to Naomi, who now had her back to them as she rooted around a pile in the corner for shoes. Her eyes traveled across the tenseness in Naomi's shoulders and her brain immediately went into overdrive. She wanted to go over and talk to her, ask if she was worried about going out, tell her they could stay in and listen to music if she wanted. That actually didn't sound like a bad idea: she could get out of her constricting club clothes and borrow some of Naomi's, they could spend the night in together away from all the stress of going out that Emily very abruptly deemed not worth it. Jesus, what had Naomi done to her? She didn't even want to go out anymore?

But Katie was still waiting expectantly for an answer, and so she reluctantly gave up her daydream and grabbed at the receipt instead. "It's nobody," she growled when Katie wouldn't give it up.

"Nobody who signed her name with a heart and wrote call me?" Katie sing-songed.

"The moped broke down on the way home today, okay?" Emily said, glaring at her sister grumpily and keeping Naomi in the corner of her eye, watching the way Naomi's hair fell in front of her face as she bent over to pull on the modest heels she'd grabbed. "The mechanic wrote out the receipt and I kept it for dad. She said I should call her if I had any more problems."

"She signed it with a heart," Katie pointed out.

"So?"

"With a _heart_."

"Will you stop harping on the fucking heart, please?"

"Was she cute?"

Emily shrugged. "She was…not unattractive," she conceded with a sigh. She knew if she tried to lie her sister would just sink her teeth in deeper and refuse to let it go. "She gave me her mobile number in case of I had trouble again, like I said."

Katie raised an eyebrow, and damn her sister for being able to read her so well. "And?"

"And she may have told me I didn't have to pay if I went out with her tonight," Emily mumbled.

There was a crash and her head swung away from the floor to see Naomi bending over and swinging her hand down to grab her bookbag that she'd just knocked off the side of her bed. Emily went over to grab it for her but was waved away with a curt, "I got it, Em," so she backed off and frowned, confused.

"So what'd you say?" Katie prodded. She sat down on Naomi's bed and crossed her legs, looking at Emily expectedly. "Is she coming with us tonight?"

"No, obviously. I wasn't interested."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Why the fuck not? She was hot, she was gay, she was obviously interested in you if she was offering free services, and babes I'm not being funny but you need a shag like nobody's business."

"Hey!" Emily protested while Naomi coughed and Effy tried to hide her smirk.

"Well it's true!" Katie waved her hand for emphasis. "You haven't had one since, like, before school started and I would know, 'cause I never have to cover for you when you're not home at night anymore. A good shag would stop you from being all mopey and shit all the time like you've been lately."

"I'm not _mopey and shit _all the time, and I just wasn't interested, all right?"

"See, this is what I mean. You wouldn't be so stroppy if you just had a good fuck against a wall."

"Katie!"

"Separate, twins," Effy said warningly.

"You ready to go, Naoms?" Emily changed the subject, cutting her eyes back over to Naomi in time to see her pulling her jacket on with shaky hands, her face completely red.

"Yeah, just about," Naomi sent her a quick, strained smile and Emily frowned again. All the sex talk had made Naomi uncomfortable and she hadn't even noticed. Wasn't she supposed to notice those things?

"All I'm saying is call her," Katie said again, still holding up the receipt. "Have her meet us at the club. It'll be fun. I'll do it for you, if you like."

Emily wouldn't call her. She wouldn't call anyone. It was true she hadn't hooked up with anyone since before school had started (since before they met Naomi) and she didn't particularly have the inclination to now. She was stuck in a horrible kind of stationary limbo: too afraid to move forward and destroy one of the greatest things that had ever happened to her, and too afraid to stay still and let an opportunity for something beautiful slip by. So instead of doing anything about it, she remained cowardly in her limbo, and tried to ignore it.

"I'm. Not. Interested," Emily repeated in answer to Katie's proposal, putting an emphasis on each word. She stalked over and grabbed the paper out of Katie's hand before she could move it away again and very purposefully ripped up the paper, sticking her tongue out at Katie when she threw the pieces away in the bin.

Katie made a face right back. "Real mature, Ems," she said.

Effy rolled her eyes and hooked her arm through Naomi's, tugging them away. "Come on, then. We're going to be late."

"We're already late," Emily grumbled.

"I heard that!" Effy called over her shoulder.

"You were supposed to!"

She didn't miss the quick wink that Katie sent Effy when they got downstairs, and it confused her more than ever, but the rest of the group was filing out the door already and so she put it in the back of her mind to examine again later.

Time to hit the club.

* * *

><p><strong>An: So, worth the wait? And worth the slight cramp in my hand? I can't collectively marry all of you for your reviews but I can shower you with Naomily chapters *showers*. You know the drill by now. Favorite part? Something you particularly liked? Something you didn't like at all? Reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy, like diving into a basket of kittens, except without the animal cruelty. That went off on a weird tangent. I apologize. **

**(The songs in this chapter are"Sex on Fire" by Kings of Leon, "Winter Winds" by Mumford & Sons, and a teensy tiny bit of "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" from Cinderella.)**

**Some fic reccing while I have you here: Besides Heart of Stone (seriously read it) a bunch of new stories have caught my eye. Particularly Miss Peg's new one "Home", MoaningMyrtle's "Capes and Capers", "Nowhere To Go But Everywhere" by kirkpattycake, and "Shutter" by imoan-campbell, the last two you can find under the "M" rating and THEY DO NOT HAVE NEARLY ENOUGH REVIEWS FOR THEIR FLAWLESS FIRST CHAPTERS. **

**Okay I'm done. Back to writing part 2 now. Love and rainbows to you all. **

**Cheers! ~FS**


	11. Chapter Nine: Emily Part Two

**A/n: Sorry this is a little later than I thought. Some stuff got in the way. **

**Okay, so I know I mention lizardwriter a lot, but she's really a champion about this story. She beta'd this chapter with a headache, while sick, at 230 in the morning. Not only that, but a large chunk of the end scene was her idea, even down to her writing some of the bits. Not only _that _but she wrote that Effily companion piece. The one about Emily staying with Effy? And also shagging? It's brilliant. It's called "The Arms of Comfort". Go read and review and make her day :D **

**Onwards my friends! **

**Disclaimer: Nada**

* * *

><p>Emily was worried about Naomi.<p>

This wasn't exactly a new occurrence, and there wasn't even anything to really be worried about, but there it was. Specifically she was worried that when she asked Naomi why she wasn't wearing her glasses, Naomi had replied that she was determined to have a 'normal night out' with them.

There were two things about that that worried her. Thing one: Naomi was putting herself in a situation that made her uncomfortable to try and fit in with everyone else. Thing two: that that meant Naomi thought she wasn't normal.

The first one she could help with as much as possible. The second broke her heart.

"TEQUILLAAAAA!" Cook howled when Freddie returned and dropped a tray full of shots onto the table, effectively knocking Emily out of her head and back into the club again, where everything was dark and sweaty and a little loud.

She reached out and handed Naomi her shot, waiting for Cook to count them down before she slammed hers back. Her head came back down again in time to see Naomi wince as she threw her head back, and her slightly inebriated mind could not summon the strength to look away from the smooth curve of her neck that was exposed as she did so. Cook slammed his shot glass down on the table and howled again, and she jumped and moved her eyes away in time to see Effy smirking at her.

"Heads," Effy said, and the entire table perked up. It was their call sign for when someone in the group had spotted someone in a club taking an interest in them. The more people on the lookout for possible shags, the more chances everyone had of pulling. It was a system that worked, although not so much anymore since most of them had paired off.

"Oooh," Panda bounced in her chair. "Who?"

"JJ."

Cook threw his head back and let loose such a loud burst of laughter Emily though the walls should have shook. "Jaykins?" he asked when he was done.

Emily leaned forward and twisted her head around, scanning the crowd to try and see who Effy had spotted. "Who?" she asked.

"The girl with the ashy blonde hair, corner of the bar."

Everyone's head very obviously swiveled to where Effy had indicated and sure enough there was a girl there, watching them. She blushed as she saw them all looking at her and raised her hand to wave a little, but her eyes were focused on a particular part of the table.

JJ was sitting to her right and staring straight down into his glass. Emily nudged him in the ribs. "Go say hi," she encouraged.

He shook his head so hard she was afraid it was going to pop off and roll away. "The likelihood that she is in fact looking at me is very slim," he said quickly in his locked-on voice. "There are nine people sitting at this table, four of which are males, which means there is a one in four chance that she is looking at me. It would be narrow-minded of me to immediately assume that she is heterosexual which means that there is actually a one in nine chance that she is looking at me –"

Emily looked over his head mid-ramble and met the girl's eyes across the room. She pointed to JJ and mouthed 'him?' and the girl blushed harder but nodded shyly. Emily's grin exploded and she nudged JJ again.

"She's looking at you, Jay," she said.

"How do you know?"

"I just asked her."

JJ gave her a sideways glare that very clearly said '_why would you __**ask **__her that?'_. He looked like he wanted to crawl inside his drink and hide.

Emily had a soft spot for JJ. When she'd been in a particularly bad part of her downward spiral last year, he'd been the person to show her that maybe she couldn't escape the label that society had slapped on her, but that he was a lot worse off when it came to the topic of labels. He'd been so upset, so downtrodden that his two best friends were out living life to the fullest, that it hadn't been a terribly hard decision to help him in the only way she could. It had been her first and only shag with a guy, and, though it hadn't been entirely unpleasant, it definitely wasn't something she was going to do again.

Besides, the look of unadulterated glee on his face afterwards when she told him he got to lord it over Freddie and Cook forever for being the only one of the three of them to have sex with a lesbian was sort of worth it.

Actually, considering her track record of sleeping with close friends, maybe there was hope for her and Naomi after all.

She quickly shook that thought out of her head and put her hand against JJ's shoulder, giving him a hard shove so he slid out of the booth and stood next to the table. He glared fiercely at her but she just grinned at him and pushed him away with her foot.

"Go ask her to dance," she ordered.

His progress across the building was slow, since he kept stopping every once in a while and almost bailed out and turned around twice, but every time he did he was met with glares from the rest of his friends. Emily wasn't watching JJ, though, she was watching the blonde girl, whose smile got wider and more affectionate the closer JJ got. Some girls just really liked the painfully shy type, and it looked like this girl was one of them. That was great because JJ was a really sweet guy once you got past his nervous energy.

The whole group blatantly spied on JJ as he started to talk with her (Emily provided a running commentary for Naomi, who snickered every time she added what she thought JJ was saying) and although she could plainly see his nervous ticks on display – his hand kept coming up to tangle in his hair and his feet kept shifting his weight from side to side – he wasn't running. When the girl grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the dance floor the group broke into cheers so loud that everyone nearby turned around to look at them.

Naomi giggled in her ear and Emily grinned, shooting a very slightly mocking thumbs-up to JJ as he glared at them. The girl grabbed his hands and put them around her waist and they started to dance, and Emily turned her attention back to the table. Good for Jay. No one deserved it more than him.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she looked over to see Naomi had her glasses out and was turning them over and over in her hands. She reached out and put her hand over Naomi's to stop the fidgeting.

"Are you all right?" she asked, leaning in closer so Naomi could hear her over the noise.

"Fine," Naomi answered tightly.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, Emily. It's not a big deal."

Naomi shoved her glasses roughly back in her bag and quickly downed the rest of her drink. Then she scooted a little down the seat so that her right side was completely against Emily's left. Emily got the hint; it was a big deal, but she could handle it as long as Emily was close by.

That was it. She was going to take Naomi home. It wasn't worth it to watch her friend obviously struggle like this just for a night out. She started to say so and was interrupted by JJ bouncing over, his face flushed and his grin so wide it looked liable to break his face in half.

"Her name is Lara," he said excitedly. Emily tried not to smile when his voice rose an octave higher. "She's our age, she goes to Belleview across town, her eyes are green, she likes red Skittles, and I think I'm in love with her."

Emily laughed because she knew the feeling.

"So Jaykins is smitten. Grab your bird, Jay, 'cause you know what we need? More shots! More shots! More shots!" Cook leapt up and ran to the bar, coming back with a tray chock full of glasses. He set a handful down in front of each person. "Bulk up, you pussies. Let's get this shit show on the road. Never Have I Ever until we're drunk enough to hit the dance floor."

Emily sent Katie a look that very clearly said, _"See what you're getting into?"_ Katie looked back and quirked her eyebrow. She knew, and she loved it. Emily rolled her eyes and smirked.

"If the twins are quite done communicating telepathically," JJ walked back up to the table hand in hand with Lara and smiled wider than she'd ever seen him smile before. "Everyone this is Lara. Lara, this is Emily, Naomi, Thomas, Pandora, Katie, Cook, Freddie, and Effy. Um…I'll help you remember of course."

Lara smiled gently at him and gave them all a wave and a quiet hello. She was sweet. Emily liked her.

"Sit your ass down, Jay. We're playing Never Have I Ever," Cook ordered, kicking an extra seat over for Lara and winking at her. "And you're up first, new girl."

When Lara's grin morphed from sweet to mischievous, Emily immediately gave her the stamp of approval. JJ needed someone who could pull him out of his shell every once in a while.

"Never have I ever kissed a girl," Lara said. Everyone around the table except herself and Panda groaned and drank.

"Nice one," Effy smirked at her and Emily could tell her friend was giving Lara the stamp of approval as well. The group was very protective of each other, of JJ especially.

Cook slammed his glass down and bellowed out a laugh before he noticed that there was one less glass in front of Katie. His jaw went slack. "Wait, what? Babes _when_?"

"Effy," Katie threw him a wink, "forever ago."

Cook and Freddie looked like they were watching a particularly aggressive tennis match, that was how fast their heads swung between Katie and Effy, who were both grinning at each other. Katie glanced back at Cook, and slid her arm seductively around Effy's waist. Effy, for her part, scooted in closer, her eyes firmly on the boys as she leaned in slowly and placed a rather open-mouth kiss on Katie's cheek. Emily almost choked trying to hold back her laughter at the display.

As one, the two boys grabbed another of their shot glasses and downed them, and the whole table burst into laughter. Katie let go of Effy to curl her hands around her stomach she was laughing so hard, and even Effy had her head thrown back in an actual laugh.

Emily just shook her head and smiled to herself. Katie _would _take something that was actually an emotional time for herself and use it to rile Cook up.

Naomi leaned into her slightly. "Why do I have the feeling I just missed something?"

"Effy kissed Katie on the cheek and Cook and Freddie had to take extra shots." She thought she was going to have to explain more than that, but Naomi just choked a bit and then said, "Nice" and threw her a smile.

Once everyone had settled down Katie smirked wickedly at her sister and said, "Never have I ever had sex under the school bleachers."

Emily groaned and downed her shot while Cook howled and shouted, "Yeah Emilio!" Emily glared at Katie when she slammed the glass back down. "This is just victimization," she grumbled. She shoved the empty shot glass away and peeked at Naomi out of the corner of her eye. Naomi was back to spinning her glasses around in her hand, her fingers pressed tightly against the plastic, and Emily could see a red blush working its way up her face. She reached over and squeezed her hand, and Naomi squeezed back with a little smile.

"I've got one," JJ said when Panda struggled to think of one for her turn. "Never have I ever gotten less than an A in a class."

Everyone boo'd him and drank. Well, everyone except for Naomi, who kept her hands in her lap and smiled broadly. Emily felt an enormous burst of pride; she knew that Naomi was smart, but exactly how smart had never crossed her mind until now. She wanted to tell the whole world how bright her Naomi was, until she remembered she wasn't _her _Naomi to brag about.

Panda bounced and squealed when she thought of one. "Never have I ever surf'd and turf'd with a boy," she said semi-proudly. Emily bit her lip to stop her smile. The way that Thomas looked at her lately said that that sentence would pretty soon be inaccurate.

Lara looked so disoriented that Emily smiled anyway. "It's Panda-speak," she explained, and she knew that Naomi probably wouldn't know the term either so she made sure she was listening too. "Means to have sex."

"Ah," Lara's face cleared and Naomi giggled a little.

Effy counted down and Emily took her shot, slamming it down along with Lara and Katie.

Freddie laughed again and reached over to ruffle JJ's hair. "Oh yeah," he said with a lazy smile, "I always forget that Emily's not a gold star."

Emily rolled up a napkin and flicked it at him. It hit him square in the forehead when his hand came up too slowly to bat it away.

"What?" Naomi's head whipped around and her mouth twisted to the side. She looked confused. "You're not a what?"

Emily sighed and glared at Freddie. She scooted closer and wrapped her hand around the back of Naomi's neck, bringing her head down so she could speak in her ear without shouting over the noise of the club. "Gold star lesbian. As in one who's never had sex with a guy. I have, so I'm not."

"Oh," she couldn't see Naomi's face but her tone of voice was weird enough that Emily almost pulled back to look. She didn't, because she liked having an excuse to be that close. "When?"

"A while ago," she admitted honestly. "With Jay. He needed a favor and it was a good way for me to be sure."

"And are you? Sure?"

"Ugh."

Naomi giggled into her ear. "Poor JJ."

"Okay you two, stop giggling over there," Effy smirked at them. "It's my turn."

Emily stuck her tongue out at Effy, whose smirk just widened in reply. "Put that tongue away unless you're going to use it, Emily Fitch."

She sucked her tongue back into her mouth immediately and started choking on air as everyone laughed. Naomi was chuckling even as she rubbed Emily's back soothingly.

"First of all, thanks for that fucking mental image, Eff," Katie held up her hand to stop Effy. She was staring at Naomi with skeptical eyes. "Second of all, Naomi…_never_?"

Naomi looked up from rubbing Emily's back, her forehead creased in a frown. "Never what?"

"You've never shagged a guy before?"

Emily regained her ability to breathe again just in time to see Naomi's entire face turn bright red. "Katie!" she snapped. It was her turn to put her hand on Naomi's back.

"What?" Katie looked surprised she was being yelled at. "She's gorgeous, Ems, even I'll admit that. I just figured she would have pulled by now, blind or not. Ouch." She rubbed her ribs where Effy had elbowed her.

"I'm sure she's had opportunities," Effy said smoothly. "Right, Naomi?"

Her hand stopped rubbing Naomi's back completely without permission and every muscle in her body tensed. She hoped to God Naomi couldn't feel it. Especially when, a second later, Naomi blushed harder and mumbled, "Maybe."

Everyone grinned, Cook laughed and yelled "Attagirl", and Emily was locked in an internal battle. A roaring green dragon had taken up residence in the pit of her stomach and now it was clawing quickly up her ribs towards her heart. She beat the jealousy down and locked it in a cage, where it howled and rattled around but was contained. Her hand resumed its former soothing duties.

"Anyway," Emily said firmly, with a pointed look at Effy, "you were saying?"

Effy's smirk grew exponentially. "Heads."

"Who?" Panda asked, grinning. She twisted her head around to see if she could spot the person before Effy told them.

"Guy two tables over, dark hair, red shirt. Looking at Naomi."

Emily immediately looked over at where Effy indicated as stealthily as she possibly could. Sure enough there was a guy there: tall, handsome, short dark hair, and dark eyes that were currently eyeing Naomi like he wanted to eat her whole.

The dragon erupted back to life and shook at the insides of its cage. Emily's jaw clenched.

"Me?" Naomi's mouth dropped open. "Are you sure?"

Emily's dragon softened a little bit. This girl was so completely unaware of the effect she could have on people.

Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome started to make his way over and Cook stood up, abruptly announcing his need to go to the pisser. As he passed the guy, he clapped a hand on his shoulder and said something into his ear. Emily knew immediately what he was doing: warning the guy about Naomi so that he wouldn't act like a wanker and embarrass her. The corner of her mouth ticked up and she turned her back, expecting that to be the end of it.

It wasn't.

A throat cleared just above her shoulder and when she looked up it was TDH. His eyes were much softer as he looked at Naomi now, almost caring, and _damn _he was actually really nice-looking. They would make a good pair. He was taller than her, his dark hair contrasted nicely with her light. When he spoke his voice was deep and soothing.

"Hi," he said, and he seemed a little uncomfortable when several sets of eyes turned in his direction. "I'm Peter. You're Naomi, right?" He was looking right at Naomi, although he obviously knew she wouldn't be able to tell. It was a nice touch. Emily hated him for it.

"I, um," Naomi's eyes flickered up and back down again and she bit her lip hard. "Yes."

"You're very beautiful," he said, and fuck it why did he have to sound so sincere, Emily was trying to loathe his existence over here, "I was wondering if you wanted to dance?"

_I was wondering if you wanted to fuck off_, Emily thought viciously.

"Um," Naomi picked at the bottom of her shirt. There was a thump and Naomi jumped a little. Emily squinted suspiciously across the table at Effy, who looked entirely too innocent for her liking. "Sure. Okay. Just let me, um, go freshen up really quickly."

For half a second Emily contemplated not sliding out of the booth. Her jealous, halfway drunk mind said that if Naomi couldn't get out of the booth than she couldn't go dance with TDH Peter. But the more rational part of her mind called that part an idiot and she slid out and let Naomi out onto the floor. She was expecting Naomi to grab her but Naomi grabbed Effy instead, and started talking to her as soon as they'd gotten a good distance from the table. Naomi looked a little pissed and rubbed at her shin pointedly.

Emily pushed away the disappointment and turned to her new arch nemesis. If looks could kill, Emily Fitch would have a lot of blood on her hands at the moment. He stood there innocently enough, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans, but he rocked back a little bit when Emily stepped towards him.

"She doesn't like crowds that much," she said sharply. "Keep to the outside of the floor. Her being blind is not permission to perv or cop a feel, got it? And if she gets returned with one hair out of place I'll rip your bollocks out through your throat."

TDH Peter gulped once, but to his credit his stood his ground. Instead he cleared his throat and said, "You must be Emily."

Emily blinked.

"That guy Cook," TDH Peter explained a little nervously. "He told me she's blind, and then he said that if I upset her at all then I'd have a redhead named Emily to deal with. I'm assuming that's you."

"That would be me," Emily crossed her arms and sat back down. "Then we're all sorted."

Naomi and Effy returned, then, and Peter took Naomi's hand to lead her out onto the dance floor. Emily grabbed another shot and tossed it back. It was only when she slammed the glass back down that she noticed the way everyone was looking at her.

"What?" she snapped.

"That was…enthusiastic," Freddie said slowly, and she was pretty sure he wasn't talking about her taking the shot.

"Seriously, Ems, he was well fit. Did you have to threaten his bollocks?" Katie asked.

Effy cocked an all-knowing eyebrow at her and Emily glared back.

"I was just making sure he'd be careful," Emily grumbled, sliding a bit farther down in her seat at the skeptical looks she was getting. "Jesus, a girl can't threaten the potential date of her best friend anymore?"

Cook shuffled over and hopped back into his chair, bringing another pint with him. "What'd I miss?" he asked when he saw everyone staring at Emily. "Where's Blondie?"

"Naomi's dancing with that guy and Emily threatened him because she wanted him to go away but he didn't and now Emily is upset because she's secretly in love with Naomi," Panda rattled off.

Emily sat bolt upright in her seat. "I'm not," she stuttered, turning bright red when everyone looked at her. "I'm not secretly in love with Naomi."

"Yeah, Panda, of course she isn't," Effy said soothingly.

"_Thank _you."

"It's not a secret."

"Hey!"

"You can't be secretly in love with someone if it's not a secret," Panda pointed out. "That's just called being in love."

Emily huffed and slid down into her seat so far she was practically on the floor. "I was just being protective."

Even JJ was shaking his head. "I'm all for being protective, Emily, but that was a bit harsh."

She put her hands over her face and sighed. "Thanks, JJ."

"And the amount of force you would need to actually rip his bollocks out through his throat, especially given the awkward angle thanks to your short stature – "

"Shut up, JJ."

* * *

><p>She was still dancing with him.<p>

Three songs later and she was still dancing with him.

Emily pushed her third pint of the night away and tried to pretend like she wasn't turning around to look at them every few moments.

TDH Peter had taken her 'advice' and kept to the edges of the crowd. He was being every inch the gentleman, seemingly letting Naomi decide how closely they danced (which was closer than Emily liked, but being within touching distance was closer than Emily liked), and his hands remained visible at all times.

He was making her smile.

Emily was aware she was well on her way to being very drunk, and the homicidal thoughts weren't helping her situation. Was it homicide if it was justified? She'd been thinking about that too much lately. That was twice in one day she'd contemplated murder. Why was the room spinning?

Maybe downing her pints, plus all those shots, on a mostly empty stomach, hadn't been the best idea of her life.

You know what would be a really good idea? Making Peter go away.

Maybe Effy could help. Effy seemed like the type of person who could kill someone quietly and get away with it.

No, not kill. Make him go away.

No homicide.

The brunette in question was cuddled up close to Freddie's side and whispering something in his ear. Cook and Katie had disappeared some time ago. Thomas and Panda were already on the dance floor, and JJ was explaining something to Lara that to her credit she actually looked like she was listening to.

Effy saw her looking and narrowed her eyes. "Stop glaring at everyone and go have fun somewhere," she ordered.

Emily narrowed her eyes back. "Have you ever killed someone?"

Effy's eyebrows shot up and she shook her head. "Emily, go."

Emily went, deciding not to take her what remind of her pint with her. She elbowed her way through the crowd towards the toilets. She needed to sober up just a little bit. She'd promised herself she wouldn't get too drunk tonight, because then she wouldn't be able to take care of Naomi properly.

_Naomi_.

She was still just in sight of both the table and the dance floor. She turned around at the thought, her eyes automatically seeking blonde hair in the crowd. As she watched TDH Peter said something and Naomi laughed.

Emily turned around and shoved her way through the door. There were some other girls in there fixing their makeup but they vacated when she glared at them and she locked the door behind them. She turned on the tap and splashed her hands about in cold water for a moment before she cupped it in her hands and splashed her face. She patted the back of her neck with her damp hands and braced herself against the sink.

"Let it go," she said out loud. She watched the way her own mouth moved in the mirror's slightly dirty reflection, enthralled with the detached way it almost looked like another person was saying the words. Suddenly much more sober brown eyes stared back at her. "Let it go before you mess everything up."

Someone banged on the door and shouted, and Emily threw it open and walked past the line of disgruntled girls waiting to get in. She got back to the edge of the crowd and instead of turning towards the table that had a prime view of Naomi and TDH Peter she turned left into the crowd. Soon she was completely surrounded by closely dancing bodies. It was all sweat and movement and heat, and most importantly no thinking.

She lifted her hands into the air and moved to the beat, letting her hips and body sway along to the rhythm. Pretty soon she felt hands on her hips, rocking back and forth with her. She knew it was a girl as soon as the hands touched her body. She leaned into the touch and covered the hands with her own, pushing herself back into the body behind her. Sure enough she felt breasts pushing against her back as the girl pressed closer. They danced for a bit, moving and pulsing and grinding to the music, until Emily turned around and threw an arm around the girl's back.

Light hair, green eyes, cheeky smile. Emily gave the girl dancing with her a slightly mashed up grin back and the girl pulled Emily closer by her hips. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Emily's neck.

Immediately Emily was thrown into flashback. _Her dream from that morning, dream-Naomi's lips on her neck. _

She brought her hands up to the girl's shoulders to push her away and stopped herself. Naomi had no claim on her. She had no claim on Naomi. It shouldn't feel like cheating to be with this girl right now. She slid her arms behind the girl's neck instead and kept dancing. The girl worked her way up to her jaw.

_Warm hands along her back. Clear blue eyes looking up adoringly at her. _

Emily stepped away from the girl.

"Sorry," she mouthed, knowing she'd barely be able to make herself heard above the music. The girl looked confused for a moment and then shrugged and turned, moving on to someone she actually could pull. Emily, cursing herself a million times over, made her way back to the table, where everyone had seemed to migrate back for more drinks.

Halfway there she could see that Naomi was back and talking to Cook. She looked so upset that Emily actually elbowed the kid next to her in the stomach when he didn't move out of her way quickly enough. He glared at her, but was thankfully above shoving a girl.

"What's the matter?" she asked as soon as she got to the table. "What happened?"

Cook looked up at her in surprise. "Emilio!" He patted the seat next to himself but she ignored it and sat next to Naomi instead, staring like she could discern what was the matter just from watching her face. The tips of Naomi's ears were red, her forehead was creased in a frown, and her mouth was set in a thin line.

"Seriously, do I have to kill somebody?" she asked, only half joking. "Is Peter about to become ex-Peter?"

Naomi shrugged and the movement shifted her away from Emily a little bit. Emily pulled her hand back and frowned. "No," Naomi said. "He was fine. When I told him I wanted to spend the rest of the night with my friends he brought me right back."

Emily looked around at the rest of the group to see if that was true. No one refuted it so she relaxed a little bit more.

"Hey Ems," Katie leaned over and rubbed at something on Emily's neck, smirking. "You've got a little lipstick on your neck."

"Fuck!" Emily batted her sister's hands and rubbed. She could feel another blush coming on.

"Yeah what happened there, Emilio?" Cook asked, grinning from ear to ear. "Was just tellin' this lot that I saw you dancin' earlier. You were well in there, muff monkey! What're you doing back here?"

Emily stopped rubbing at her neck and shrugged. "Not interested," she said shortly.

"You looked plenty fucking interested when she was sucking on your neck like a bloody vampire," Katie said with a roll of her eyes.

Naomi was so tense next to her that Emily could practically feel it radiating off her, and it made her upset that Naomi was this upset and not telling her why. "Leave off, Katie," she snapped at her sister. "I just wasn't interested, all right?" She moved closer to talk directly in Naomi's ear and this time when she put a hand on her shoulder it wasn't shaken off. "Is it the crowd?" she asked.

It took a minute for Naomi to answer, but then she nodded slowly. Emily wrapped an arm around Naomi's back and Naomi leaned into the embrace, putting her head on Emily's shoulder and breathing in deeply. Emily ran her hand along Naomi's side, tracing small patterns up and down. The more she did it the more Naomi relaxed against her, little by little.

"So besides my sister being fucking celibate now," Katie said, "what happened with you, Naomi? Didn't like Peter?"

Naomi pressed her head further into Emily's shoulder. "I, um, guess I wasn't interested either," she said. "I don't think he was my type."

"You don't think?" Effy prompted at the same time that Katie said "You have a type?"

"Well, obviously the physical doesn't really matter," Naomi answered. "It has to be someone I connect with, I guess. Someone I feel comfortable with. Someone who won't put up with my bullshit. They've got to make me laugh, and won't hesitate to tell me when I'm being a prick. I don't know," she shrugged again with the arm not pressed against Emily, suddenly looking self-conscious. Emily gave her a squeeze.

She didn't miss Effy and Katie exchanging a significant glance, and then Effy turned and looked right at Emily.

"I'm sure you'll find someone like that. You feeling better now?" Effy asked Naomi. She waited until Naomi nodded before she said, "Great, because we're all going to dance."

* * *

><p>"You're not going to leave me, are you?"<p>

Most of the others had disappeared into the crowd immediately, but Emily was guiding Naomi and taking her damn time about it. She turned around and stepped closer. "What?"

"You'll…" Naomi gulped as someone jostled against her and Emily pulled her closer and glared at the guy fiercely. "You'll stay close?"

Emily snuck into Naomi's arms and threw her hands around Naomi's neck, pulling her closer so they were dancing the same way they had at her party, what now seemed like a million years ago. "I'm not going anywhere for the rest of the night."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Naomi nodded and slowly started to smile as she put her hands lightly on Emily's hips and started moving along to the beat. Emily started to smile as well, because it was the first time that night that Naomi had just relaxed and gone with the flow. Emily was still feeling a little drunk, but the adrenalin that had pumped through when she'd been worried about Naomi had sobered her up quickly, so now she was able to enjoy just dancing with Naomi without the filter of being pissed out of her mind. She bumped their feet together playfully and Naomi full-on grinned.

She twisted around and Naomi's arms wrapped lightly around her stomach. She wanted so badly to pull Naomi's hands closer, so that she was completely wrapped up in Naomi's arms, instead of the loose embrace she was being held in, but she didn't. They continued to dance far more chastely than most of the couples around them.

The girl from before drifted back into Emily's line of sight. She caught Emily's eye and beckoned, trying to draw her away from Naomi. Emily took a small step backwards, still not as close as she would have liked, but close enough for the girl to get the hint. The girl rolled her eyes and beckoned again.

"What's going on?" Naomi asked suddenly in her ear.

Emily almost jumped, but relaxed instantly. "The girl from before keeps trying to get me to abandon you and come dance with her," she said over her shoulder. "But don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'm yours," she almost stopped there, but very quickly added, "for the night. You doing okay back there?"

"I could stand for you to be a bit closer," she answered, and the nervousness in her voice overrode Emily's cautionary distance between them. She let Naomi pull her back closer, until she could feel her breasts brushing lightly against her back, and she tried not to shudder at the sensation.

Two songs passed. Then three. Then four. She'd turned back around so they were front to front again. And the longer they danced, the closer they moved together, like two continents slowly shifting together, knowing their meeting will create a change in the entire world, and still unable to change their course.

Eventually it got to the point where Emily had to stop and think about what they were doing and the effects it was wreaking on her self-control. Sure, they'd danced what felt like a million times by now; slow at the wedding, silly in Naomi's room, a little awkwardly at the party. But never like this. She didn't know if it was the alcohol making Naomi so touchy or the crowd making her want to press closer to Emily, but she'd never danced this closely with her before.

Arms were thrown around necks and shoulders, cheeks pressed against each other, hips locked together as they moved and flowed to the beat. Naomi was a good dancer when she let herself be.

It should have made her ecstatic. Instead it made her heart hurt. Because every part of her body was saying _'you want this' _and every part of her mind was saying _'but you can't have it'_. She could let Naomi in only so close, but she had to remind herself _this close and no further. _

But she _wanted _so badly and so much.

She leaned her forehead against Naomi's collarbone and made a small distressed sound in the back of her throat.

Immediately Naomi was closer, leaning her head down and brushing her hair back away from her ear so she could say, "What's wrong?"

The words, "I want," slipped through her brain and out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Naomi waited and when she seemed to figure out that Emily wasn't going to continue she pressed her lips to Emily's temple and asked, "What do you want, Ems?"

_Oh God, my love, _she thought desperately, _don't ask me that question. _

_I want you. _

_I want to know how it feels to kiss you for real. I want to hold your hand at school and have it mean something. I want to wake up in the morning and see those beautiful eyes. I am so in love with you and I want to be with you for as long as you'll have me. _

_I want you, but I'm your rock, so you can never know that. _

"I want to go home," she finished instead.

Naomi's arms dropped from around her shoulders to circle her torso and she pulled Emily into a hug like she could absorb all of her sadness into her own body.

It was exactly what Emily usually needed. Under normal circumstances a hug from Naomi fixed everything, but what could she do when Naomi was the problem?

"Okay," Naomi said. "Let's get you home."

* * *

><p>Back when they thought they were going to be out much later than they actually were, Naomi had told her mum she would be sleeping over at Emily's. Despite the fact that they weren't dragging themselves in at the crack of dawn like they'd thought, they agreed on Naomi staying at Emily's anyway, since Bear would most likely wake the entire house if she went home.<p>

They were both a little wobbly still, but they were now in that halfway stage between buzzed and sober. The trek up the stairs was as quiet as they could make it (which was surprisingly quiet, actually) and Naomi immediately threw herself onto Emily's bed.

"You're so lucky you didn't miss," Emily giggled at her.

Naomi lazily flipped her off. "I know where your bed is."

"Come on, you," Emily grabbed Naomi's arm and hauled her back up off the bed. Naomi whined and tried to bat her away but Emily was firm. "You're not sleeping on my pillows with makeup all over your face, and you'll be more comfortable changed."

"Stop making sense," Naomi complained. She allowed Emily to drag her down the hall to the bathroom though. They both had turns scrubbing off their makeup and brushing teeth, playfully trying to nudge each other away from the sink the whole time.

"Hold up, let me check," Emily grabbed Naomi's shoulders and turned her towards her so she could study her face. She grabbed a towel and wet it before wiping off a bit of eyeliner Naomi had missed. "Much better."

They got back to Emily and Katie's room and Emily grabbed the bag of Naomi's clothes they'd dropped off on the way to the club and handed it to her. She didn't usually wear much to bed, but she rooted around in her closet for pyjamas because she wasn't about to give herself more temptation.

A door closed in the hallway and she heard water running in the bathroom. When she stuck her head out into the hall she saw that James's door was hanging open.

"Fucking…James!" she cursed quietly. All she wanted was to get changed and fall into bed. The effects of the alcohol had definitely worn off by now and she was feeling the fatigue starting to creep up.

"What'd he do?" Naomi asked.

"He's in the fucking bathroom doing fuck-all knows what. Worm shouldn't be up at this hour anyway," she grumbled and sighed. "Looks like I'm waiting until he gets out."

She thought she saw Naomi blush a little, but the light from her bedside lamp was throwing weird shadows and she couldn't be certain.

"Don't be ridiculous, Em," Naomi shook her head. "Just don't look, okay?"

"Right, of course," Emily took a deep, tremulous breath and turned around. Her hands shook as she unzipped her jeans and pulled them down.

_Just don't look_. She could do that. She could handle that.

Her shirt joined her jeans on the floor and she became acutely aware of the fact that she was half-naked in a room with Naomi. She'd never pulled shorts and a tank top on so fast in her entire life, just because the clothes felt like an extra layer of protection. They weighed her down, stopped her from flying off into her imagination. The clothes were her shield.

She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists to stop the temptation. She could still hear rustling sounds behind her. She knew Naomi was still changing. For the sake of friendship, she would not look at Naomi changing.

Naomi threw her shirt onto the floor and Emily's eyes darted to it instinctively. That brought her eyes in line with Naomi's hands as they finished pulling her pyjama bottoms up.

_Oh fuck. Oh fuckity fucking hell. _There was no stopping it now. It was inescapable. She was perving on her best friend.

Her eyes followed Naomi's hands as they smoothed the elastic around her stomach and Emily gulped, because Naomi was the type of person who put their trousers on first. One glimpse of skin and her eyes were drawn all the way over like magnets. She saw deliciously flat abs, a smooth line up her stomach to where her necklace dipped invitingly between bra-clad breasts, the navy blue of the fabric standing out starkly against her pale skin. Emily's brain supplied images of kneeling in front of her, running her tongue from bellybutton to collarbone, placing a kiss between her breasts. She was pretty sure she was going to leave a mark with the way she was digging her nails into her palms. The muscles in Naomi's back and shoulders moved and stretched fluidly as she lifted her arms above her head to pull on her t-shirt. She stopped midway through the motion and Emily thought she was going to stop breathing.

Naomi lowered her arms again, although they were very cutely tucked halfway into the shirt so it was bunched up around her elbows. "Why do I feel like you're looking anyway? Perv."

"I wasn't, I –" she rushed to defend herself until she saw the tiny smile that had accompanied those words. "You're an asshole, Naomi. I thought you were mad."

"You said you wouldn't look," Naomi teased, quickly pulling her shirt all the way over her head.

It was white and had a pig on it. It was ridiculously adorable. The adorableness of the pig shirt did nothing to sate the fire burning in her lower stomach.

"I'd only just turned around," she mumbled.

"Likely story."

The tension in the air dissipated slowly as Naomi began to giggle and Emily, her face still bright red, joined because it was just so fucking contagious.

"If you're done being a perv," Naomi grinned.

Emily's heart fluttered. This was coming dangerously close to flirting. Was Naomi flirting or being playful? Did she even know how to flirt? Emily was pretty sure she'd never seen Naomi flirt with anyone in all the time they'd known each other. She decided to test it.

"I was not perving!" she took two steps over and shoved Naomi lightly in the shoulder.

"You were having a look!" Naomi shoved back.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Get into bed, Campbell."

"I'm not sure what kind of woman you think I am, Fitch, but don't I at least get flowers?"

Emily sucked in a quick breath of air and choked on it. When she managed to catch her breath again Naomi was curled up under the covers of Emily's bed, smirking smugly at the reaction she'd caused.

"You did that on purpose," Emily accused.

Naomi's 'who me?' look was far too innocent. Emily rolled her eyes, but her entire face softened when she saw Naomi's eyes start to flutter closed. She looked as exhausted as Emily felt, and Emily listened to her breathing start to even out before she went into the hall and shut the door quietly behind her. James was in the hall looking at her with big eyes.

"Is Naomi in your room?" he asked.

"Go back to sleep," Emily snapped at him.

"Is she in your bed?"

"Yes. Go to sleep."

"Can I watch?"

"Oh my God, no! Go back to sleep now, fucking worm!"

He darted into his room before she could hit him and she stalked downstairs, remembering halfway down that it was late and she should be quiet. The clock in the living room said it was two in the morning. She softened her footsteps as she went down the stairs and slipped into the kitchen. She was planning on grabbing some water and paracetemol for herself and Naomi for tomorrow and heading back upstairs to pass out for the night.

Her dad sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen, reading a paper and drinking tea, scared her so much she almost screamed.

He put the paper down and made a chagrined face at her. "Sorry, love," he said quietly. His deep voice sounded like caged thunder as he tried to keep it down.

"Dad," Emily pressed her hand against her chest to try and calm her rapidly beating heart. "What are you doing up?"

He shrugged and smiled at her. It was a softer version of his usual smile, full of affection and pearly white teeth. "Sometimes when I can't sleep I'll sit up and wait for you girls to come home."

"Oh." She hadn't known that. She was abruptly afraid that he had allowed her to catch him in the kitchen now because she was in trouble, maybe even for bringing Naomi home. Her dad did think she was her girlfriend, after all. Emily was glad she was at least mostly sober at this point.

It must have shown on her face because he chuckled. "You're not in trouble," he said. "You two haven't ever given me a reason not to trust you when you go out."

"Does Mum know how late we come home?"

"What your mother doesn't know won't hurt us."

They shared a smile. He picked his paper back up and Emily walked past him to get two glasses down from the cabinet. She thought about it a moment and grabbed a third one just in case Katie decided she was going to come home.

"Naomi asleep?" her dad asked without looking up from his paper.

She almost dropped one of the glasses into the sink. As it was the water she was filling it with sloshed over the side. _Seriously? _When did her father get so observant?

"Um, yes," she said, blushing.

He smiled. "You're not in trouble for that, either," he said. "Like I said. I trust you."

The only sounds in the room after that were the clinking of the glasses, the rush of water, and the rustle of paper every time he turned a page. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence. If there was anyone in their family who could share space without talking it was her and her dad. She remembered when she was younger sitting out in the garage and watching him work. Sometimes he would ask for a tool, sometimes he would put on the radio, but the majority of the time she just watched and he let her.

Finally she had the glasses all filled with water and the pills wrapped up in a paper towel. She stared at the glasses for a long moment, like they would give her the answer to the secrets of the universe. When they remained solitary and silent on the counter she turned around and braced herself.

"Dad?" she said quietly. Something in her tone must have set off a warning flag in his head because he immediately put his paper down and looked at her seriously.

"What's the matter, love?"

Emily bit her lip. "What do you do when you want something, but you're too scared of the consequences to go for it?"

Her dad folded his hands together in front of him and seemed to be giving his answer serious thought. "Fear isn't always a bad thing," he said finally. "Sometimes it stops you from doing things you shouldn't. On the other hand, sometimes it stops you from doing things that you should."

Emily hated how small her voice was when she asked, "How do you know which is which?"

"That's one you've got to work out for yourself, kiddo."

Emily sighed. _Of course. _She was about to turn around and gather up the glasses of water when he spoke again.

"Do you know what your grandfather told me once?"

His eyes were serious as he studied her. As serious as she'd ever seen him. They were a light blue that she hadn't inherited. She, Katie, and James, they all had their mother's eyes. She shook her head.

"He said that courage is not the absence of fear, but the judgment that something is more important than fear."

Emily tried not to smile. "I think that was Ambrose Redmoon," she said gently.

"Was it?" Her father's forehead scrunched up. "Oh, that lying old bastard."

Emily did smile then, because she couldn't help it.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say," he said. "Is if you really want something, don't let fear stop you."

Her smile dropped away. She gathered up the condensation from one of the glasses on her finger and drew a pattern onto the counter. "I don't feel particularly courageous. I feel more like a coward."

He gently pushed a chair away from the island with his foot and tapped it. "Come sit," he encouraged.

She abandoned the glasses on the counter and sat down, folding her arms on the table and resting her chin dejectedly on top of them.

"Do you remember when you and Katie were about six years old and I took you out for the day?" he asked. "James was only about a year old and your mother needed some time, so I drove us a couple hours over to Christchurch and we went to the Adventure Wonderland."

Emily tried hard to remember. She seemed to vaguely recall a sunny day and cool ice cream. She lifted her head and he took it as a sign to continue.

"Katie went on maybe one ride and got sick, refused to go on any other ones. But you…you went on every one you were big enough to get on. There was one particular roller coaster, you were _just _big enough to get onto, it did some sort of figure-eight loop. I thought you were going to be scared, but you came off with the biggest smile on your face and you wanted to go again. I remember watching you ride it for what must have been the eighth or ninth time, and the man running the ride said to me, 'That's one fearless girl you've got there'."

Emily felt tears prick the back of her eyes. She dropped her gaze down to the counter and clenched her jaw.

Her father tucked a hand underneath her chin and made her look up. "Emily, that's always been my favorite part about you. You don't have to tell me what it is you're talking about, and maybe I don't even want to know, but I do know this. You? You are never going to be a coward."

Emily sniffled. "So what are you saying?"

He put his newspaper under his arm and stood up. His smile was gentle and kind when he moved a piece of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. "Just be brave, Emsy," he said.

She listened to him go upstairs and heard the sound of the door closing as he went into his room. She stayed in the kitchen, her eyes glued to the countertop, doing nothing but listening to the clock tick over. When she looked up again it was quarter to three and she had a gorgeous blonde girl asleep in her bed.

The glasses of water were cold against her arms as she carried them upstairs, and she didn't have enough hands to be quiet when she opened her door. She just sort of banged around and hoped that she didn't wake Naomi.

She didn't. Naomi was completely out of it, her nose scrunched up cutely as she shifted a little bit in her sleep. Emily smiled as Naomi turned her head a little and snuggled further down into her mattress. She really was the cutest thing.

She put two of the glasses on her nightstand and one on Katie's and managed to knock a ring off in the process. She sighed and kneeled down to reach under her bed and grab it, and when her head popped back up she was very close to Naomi.

Naomi was her best friend in the entire world. Effy was like family, and Katie was her twin sister, and she trusted the rest of the group with her life, but Naomi was special. She was Naomi. There was simply no other way to put it.

_Oh. _

The ring dropped out of Emily's hand as she continued to look at her. She just looked so relaxed, all the worries she carried about in the daytime brushed away by sleep, a tiny smile on her face as her chest rose along with her deep, even breaths.

The urge was unstoppable. She couldn't stand it. She couldn't be this close to her and not touch her, not kiss her. She braced one hand against her bed and leaned forward, pressing her lips softly against Naomi's, savoring their warmth. It was tender, but firm, and over almost before it started. Naomi sighed a little when she pulled away.

She didn't know where she found the strength to move away, but she did. She backed up and sat on the edge of Katie's bed and put her head in her hands, tangling her fingers through her hair and pulling sharply at the roots to try and snap herself out of it. She couldn't stay by the edge of her bed, because she didn't trust herself. Not with the soft feeling of Naomi's lips against her own was still burned into her memory. Not when she wasn't sure she wouldn't do it again. She might never be able to do it when Naomi was awake, but she couldn't not do it then.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she asked herself. She lifted her hands away from her face and looked balefully over at her bed where Naomi was still fast asleep, completely and blissfully unaware of everything.

The open curtain let moonlight in from outside. It splashed across her room like spilled paint, highlighting everything it touched with a silver glow. It flowed across Emily's bed, sparked off the trinkets she had on her nightstand, and wrapped Naomi up in light. The moon was bright, but it drained color from the world and turned it into monochrome. Emily could do nothing but look.

Naomi looked like she belonged in an old black and white film. Like she fit right in with the posters of Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe that Emily had on her wall. Battles and wars had been waged over people like Naomi. Entire cities and civilizations had fallen. Emily used to think the Trojan War was ridiculous: ten years of war, hundreds of thousands of lives, and a race of people destroyed, all for the beauty of one woman. Sitting on her sister's unmade bed in a small town in England where she'd lived her entire life, staring peacefully at the sleeping face of her best friend, Emily believed it.

For the second time in one day, Naomi Campbell forced her to redefine her idea of perfection. Because if it wasn't seeing Naomi asleep in her bed, lit up by the moonlight, her face completely natural and free of makeup, with a few pieces of hair falling over her face, then she didn't know what it was. This was Naomi without layers, and it was stunning.

If Emily had been able to tear her eyes away from Naomi she knew she would see a quote on her wall, something she had found in a magazine forever ago and had cut out and taped above her bed so she wouldn't forget it: "When you love someone, you love them because of, not in spite of, their flaws." Naomi was grouchy in the morning, she could be snappish and self-centered, she was a bit of a neat-freak, she had a tendency to push people away, and Emily would probably not have fallen in love with her if she was any different.

Maybe perfection is achievable. Maybe it just depends on how you see it.

Emily's eyes were sad as she watched Naomi's hand clench and pull at her comforter. The tree outside her window swayed and it sent jagged patterns through the moonlight on Naomi's face.

_I want to be brave for her._

She stood up and walked back over to her bed, careful to climb into it without touching any part of Naomi's body with her own. She could have probably stayed in Katie's bed, because she was almost positive that Katie was going to stay the night at Cook's anyway, but she didn't want to take that chance and anyway, what if Naomi woke up and was disoriented being in the bed alone?

She curled up underneath her covers and tried to keep some distance between them, but her hand reached up and played with Naomi's hair all on its own. Silky blonde strands tangled around her fingers before she pulled away and tucked her hand under her chin to keep it from being disobedient again.

Naomi rolled over and snuggled into her, probably seeking the warmth her body provided. Emily gave up trying to keep distance and draped her free arm over Naomi's hip. Her hand rose and fell in time with the breaths she took.

Friends could hold other friends in their sleep, right? No, she knew she was just lying to herself. And badly, at that. Emily scrunched her eyes shut and cuddled closer.

_Please, God, let me be brave for her tomorrow._

* * *

><p><strong>An: I've got kind of a crappy day tomorrow, but I wanted to get this up tonight so that hopefully when I get through with my MRI I'll have some lovely things to read from you guys. So? What d'you think? I know you're all probably coming after me with pitchforks. Favorite part? Something you like? Something you don't like? I promise I have a plan. **

**Cheers my lovelies. ~FS**


	12. Chapter Ten: Naomi

**A/n: I know, I know, it's been a long time, but real life got in the way and it was really sucky. I changed my anxiety meds and then the soulmate came home for two weeks before he got deployed to Korea and then he left (and boy that was horrible) and then it was finals week and just ugh, general suckiness. But hopefully I made it worth the wait, both in content and length. Also you should know that immediately after sending this to her I opened up a new Word document and began to write my Last Will and Testament because I was mild to moderately sure that lizardwriter was just going to up and kill me for making her beta this. **

**Speaking of lizardwriter she not only gets a beta credit for this chapter she also gets a co-author credit because without her some of this chapter wouldn't even exist including the grand majority of the end scene. **

**Now that lizardwriter appreciation time is over (and isn't it always just lizardwriter appreciation time in my author's notes?) I tell you that this chapter is the most Naomily chapter to ever have Naomily'd in the history of Naomily-dom and yes I just turned Naomily into a verb. **

**Disclaimer: Nope**

* * *

><p>Fear was somewhat of a constant in Naomi's life. Over the years she had managed to turn most of her fear into caution, but it was a simple and undeniable fact that Naomi had to fear for herself more than normal people. Crossing the street, helping to make dinner, going to clubs; it was all possible for her, but there was always that chance that something could happen that she wouldn't be able to stop. Her fear was always going to be around, she was always going to be startled by loud noises and unnerved by crowds, but she had found ways to cope with it.<p>

That's why she loved having Emily around. Well, obviously that was not the most important reason, but Emily calmed that ever-present knot of fear in her stomach. She soothed her. Emily made her feel like nothing would happen as long as she was around, and that was a shield of comfort she'd never experienced before.

Emily was home, though, and at the moment Naomi only had to deal with two of her fears anyway: the constant fear that she felt whenever she thought about making a move on Emily, and thunderstorms. The first was easy to ignore because the second one was taking over right then.

She winced and cuddled deeper into the fur around Bear's neck as another roll of thunder sounded. He heaved a great sigh and poked her cheek with his nose. His way of trying to comfort her.

It was stupid and irrational, she knew, and also something she couldn't control. She hadn't been a big fan of thunderstorms before the accident, but after? With no flash of lightning to tell her when the thunder was coming, it was just a series of sudden loud noises one after the other. Thunderstorms were the worst. She tended to curl up in bed, her muscles tensing and jumping with every unexpected crash, relaxing during the brief interlude, and then tensing again. It was frustrating and exhausting.

When she was younger she used to curl up with her mum. It was only 8 o'clock on a Sunday and she was _very _tempted to go downstairs and do that now, since she was sure her mum and Kieran would be down in the living room watching one of their game shows. But her stubborn independent streak kept her in her room, miserably clinging to her dog. Thank God Bear was a trained dog and not one they got from the pound, not only for all the obvious reasons, but also because guide dogs did not react to loud noises.

Her iPod was charging across the room. She could get it, but that meant having to crawl out of the protection of being in her bed with Bear and grabbing it, and anyway, the vibration of the thunder still startled her no matter what.

She tried to distract herself by thinking about the club on Friday night.

Shopping with Katie and Effy had been horrible, but mostly because Katie just grabbed things and put them up against her, then made little noises under her breath, usually she put things back, and then the process started all over again. Her only respite during that had been texting Emily, until finally her favorite twin had texted Katie and threatened her into cutting the shopping trip short. Then it was getting ready at her house, where her mum was ecstatic she had more mates over, and Naomi got her revenge when Bear licked Katie's face and she complained about dog spit. She let him cuddle up to her later, though, so Naomi had the feeling that maybe she secretly liked him more than she let on.

Suddenly Bear darted off her bed and she heard his nails clicking as he nudged her bedroom door open wider and ran down the stairs. Naomi sat bolt upright in bed. "Bear!" she whisper-yelled after him, "you get back here right fucking now."

He was long gone. She couldn't even hear his nails against the hardwood anymore. She crawled out from underneath her blankets and swung her feet out of bed, her toes just touching cold hardwood when thunder struck again. Her feet snapped back up off the floor immediately and she rolled onto her side, cursing the stupid pounding of her heart. This was ridiculous.

"Traitor dog," she complained into her pillow.

The thing was she actually liked the lull between the thunder and lightning. It was raining quite heavily and the pounding of the raindrops against the roof was kind of soothing.

She took a deep breath and held it, counted to ten, and let it out very slowly. Her muscles relaxed as the air left her lungs. They tensed up all over again when there was a loud crash that was so close that it sounded like it was directly on top of her as it rattled the walls and vibrated her bed. She cursed out loud and must have jumped ten feet into the air. She jumped again when Bear suddenly climbed back up onto her bed, the thunder having covered the noise of him coming back.

"Traitor dog," she repeated, giving him a little shove when he curled up next to her again. His tail was thumping hard and he seemed kind of pleased with himself.

She sighed, giving in, and started to roll off her bed so she could go get her iPod.

"Hey, Naoms –"

Naomi yelped and fell off the side of her bed, hitting the floor with a solid thump.

"Shit!" Emily ran over and knelt down next to her, her voice panicked and guilty. "Sorry. I thought you heard me come in."

Naomi shook her head, distracted by Emily kneeling between her legs and the way Emily's fingers tangled in her hair as she soothingly rubbed the small bump forming above Naomi's ear where her head had bumped the hardwood. "Can't hear anything over the rain," she said quietly.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked as she grabbed Naomi's hands and hauled her to her feet. Naomi never failed to be surprised at the amount of strength packed inside such a tiny body.

She sat back down on her bed and Bear nudged her shoulder with his head. She could hear his happy panting in her ear and she smiled as she reached up to scratch underneath his chin. "So you abandoned me to bring me Emily?" she asked him. "Acceptable excuse. I'm sorry, you're not a traitor dog."

Emily giggled. "You called him a traitor dog?" she asked.

Naomi nodded and moved to sit at the top of her bed so Emily had room to climb onto the bottom, which she did. "He just left me out of nowhere! Jumped out of bed and was gone. Forewent his sacred duty of protector."

"Protector from what?" Emily teased. "The rain?"

Naomi just shrugged because that hit too close to home. It wasn't that she didn't trust Emily with her fears, it was that to her the fear of something that couldn't actually hurt you was weak and childish, and she didn't want Emily to see her as either of those things.

She leaned back against the headboard and tried to brace herself for the next time thunder rolled around. "Any reason you invaded my house?" she asked.

The bracing didn't work. She'd barely gotten the word 'house' out before thunder rolled again and she winced.

"Naoms?" Emily crawled up the bed and Naomi heard a whine as Emily nudged Bear out of the way. Pretty soon there was a warm body sitting next to her as Emily mimicked her position leaning against the headboard. "What's the matter?"

"N-nothing," Naomi bit her lip hard to conceal her stutter. "Everything's fine. How are you?"

"Well, my parents took James to the cinema, so Katie invited Cook over, so I left to take sanctuary at my best friend's house, but she's inanely asking me how my day was even though she sort of looks like she's seen a ghost. Other than that I'm peachy."

Naomi made a face at the lightly scolding tone in Emily's voice. "I'm fine, Ems, seriously, I –" Her body jumped automatically at the next crash of thunder and she pushed herself backwards, landing awkwardly on her arm and almost falling out of bed again. Emily's hand grabbed onto her shirt and dragged her back before she could properly fall off the bed, and then pulled her further, past where she had been sitting before, so she was leaning against her.

"Shh," Emily said, and Naomi knew she could feel just how hard her heart was pounding, partially from the fear and partially from her proximity to Emily. Naomi just stayed there, her breathing going back to normal, and the next time there was thunder she didn't jump as badly, mostly because she was busy focusing on how warm Emily's arms felt around her.

"Better?" Emily asked when Naomi wasn't breathing like she'd just run a marathon.

Naomi nodded and pulled away a little, but Emily didn't let her go far. Instead they returned to their spots against the headboard, but this time with Emily's left arm cradled around her shoulders.

"So I was going to come over here to read while you did coursework," Emily said, and Naomi almost shuddered at her low voice right in her ear, "but do you want me to read to you instead?"

"Sure," she was pleased with herself when she managed to answer confidently and articulately, instead of with 'guh' like she wanted to. "If you want."

"Back to the beginning, then," Emily said. There was the rustling of pages and Emily started to read. Naomi leaned her head on Emily's shoulder as she listened, enjoying the duality that came with listening to her voice with one ear and hearing the vibrations of it through her chest with the other. She turned her body a bit and wrapped her arms around Emily's stomach, sliding one hand into the pouch-pocket of the hoodie Emily had on.

The closer she was to Emily, the less she jumped when it thundered. This could only be a good thing.

And Emily wasn't bothered. It wasn't like they hadn't cuddled like this before, and in fact she wrapped her arm more securely around Naomi's shoulders. Every once in a while she would stop to turn the page, or tap Naomi's shoulder with her finger. It wasn't until the fourth time this happened that she realized Emily's taps were warning her of the flash of lightning that preceded the thunder.

Her heart melted. Emily _knew_. Emily had figured out that she was afraid of the storm and she wasn't judging, just offering silent comfort in the form of cuddles.

She was curled into Emily so much that she'd actually managed to burrow into the neck of her jumper a little bit, so that her nose and right cheek were against the bare skin of Emily's shoulder. Emily didn't seem to mind, she just shifted her arm so that Naomi was cradled against her and kept on reading. Now that the thunder was slightly less unpredictable, Naomi was able to concentrate on other, more important things. Like the way she could smell the soap on Emily's skin and how gentle and relaxing her voice was. Very slowly her muscles lost their tension completely and their embrace became less Naomi holding on for dear life and more of a hug.

Naomi actually found herself falling asleep like that. And as she drifted off, she decided that thunderstorms weren't so bad holed up in the safety of Emily Fitch's jumper.

* * *

><p>They woke up in pretty much the same position, with Naomi using Emily as a human pillow. The gentle, steady rise and fall of the chest she was lying against told Naomi that Emily had fallen asleep too. Her arm had dropped off Naomi's shoulder and around her torso instead. She could feel Emily's grip on her waist and the way her fingers curled into the top of the exposed part of Naomi's jeans.<p>

Naomi shuddered a little at the feeling of Emily's nails lightly scratching the sensitive skin there, and Emily mumbled in her sleep and buried her nose further into Naomi's hair.

Naomi's alarm went off and they were both startled by it, Emily jolting awake at the sound, and Naomi realized they hadn't just fallen asleep, but that Emily had accidentally stayed the night.

"Morning," she said hoarsely, before anything awkward could start to form between them.

"Morning," Emily repeated back, and Jesus if her morning voice wasn't sex personified she didn't know what was. "Bear, off!"

The weight of the bed shifted as Emily tried to heave Naomi's dog onto the floor. How the three of them had managed to share her bed without one of them being pushed off was beyond her. Naomi rolled over and stretched, acutely aware of the way her shirt rode up a little as she bent her arms back, and she couldn't stop the happy noise that slipped out when her back cracked.

"Um, think I could borrow some stuff?" Emily asked almost shyly. "I don't have time to run home."

"Sure," Naomi waved a hand toward her bureau. "Anything you think will fit. I'll take a shower in Mum's room."

Her escape was a little hasty, but she couldn't honestly trust herself in a room with a half-naked Emily Fitch again. It had been hard enough the other night, when every sound had been amplified ten-fold and she'd had to count backwards from 100,000 in her head just to keep her mind off the fact that Emily was nearby and mostly unclothed.

She paused just outside the bathroom when she heard her mum and Kieran's quiet voices floating up the stairs from the kitchen. _Shit_. Did they know that Emily stayed the night last night? Were they mad? Bear nudged her hip and she shook herself out of those thoughts. Why would they be mad? She and Emily hadn't even _done _anything last night. They weren't even together in a way where they would do anything with each other.

Just because _she _read into every aspect of their relationship did not mean that _everyone _did. Well, maybe Effy, but Naomi got the feeling that Effy was like that with everybody. The world was her favorite game, and Effy enjoyed playing.

Her mum's room was quiet and she bumped into things twice, simply because she wasn't as used to the layout, but everything went okay after that. At least until she got out of the shower and realized that, among her more brilliant moments that morning, she'd forgotten to grab a change of clothes from her bureau.

Grumbling to herself, she wrapped her body up in a towel and stalked down the hallway, avoiding Bear, who seemed to think licking the shower water off her legs was something she wanted him to do. It was only when she got into her room, shut the door behind her, and heard the shower running, that she remembered the reason she'd taken a shower in her mum's room in the first place. Specifically, the very naked Emily in the shower in her room.

Her body went from shivering slightly in the cold air to overheated in a second. Blood rushed straight to her head and her hands twitched against the bottom of the towel. Over the rushing sound between her ears she could vaguely hear Emily singing.

_Oh God, _she thought distractedly, _she sings in the shower. That's fucking adorable. _

Her feet stayed rooted to the spot just in front of her door as scenarios flashed through her mind at 100 miles per hour. It was eight steps from her door to the door of the bathroom, three to the shower, and a small step up into the shower itself. She could cover that in thirty seconds. If she wanted to, in thirty seconds, she could drop her towel and be in a shower with Emily. Things got a lot less logical after that. She thought about stepping into the hot water, pushing Emily against the cold tiles, feeling soft lips against hers, wet skin sliding together, Emily's breathy moans.

The throbbing between her legs intensified and she even took a step forward when her elbow knocked over something metallic on her bookcase. The crash brought her to her senses, and Emily's singing abruptly stopped.

"It's just me, Ems," she called, praying that Emily wouldn't be able to hear how high-pitched and croaky her voice was. "Forgot to grab clothes."

_So, you know_, her inner thoughts supplied unhelpfully, _I'm gonna be naked out here for the next couple minutes. Feel free to come ravish me. Please. _

"Okay!" was the response that she got, instead of the wished-for ravishing.

Naomi brought a shaking hand up to her face and pressed it against her heated cheeks, taking several deep breaths until she calmed down. Very quickly she walked over to her bureau (studiously ignoring the fact that if she took three steps to the left she'd be in front of her bathroom door) and rummaged around for clothes. Her hands were shaking so badly she had to run her fingers over the labels twice before she knew what she was putting on. Bra and knickers. A pair of skinny jeans. A white t-shirt her mum had bought her that had an arrow pointing up and black letters that said "is against animal cruelty" (of course the tag didn't say all that, she knew what the shirt looked like because her mother told her, the tag just said 'animal cruelty tee'). She'd just thrown on a soft white button-up sweatshirt when she heard the creak of her bathroom door.

"Oh," Emily said breathily. "Sorry, Naoms. I didn't know you were still out here."

There was a moment of silence as Naomi fumbled around the top of her bureau looking for a bracelet to wear. She wondered what clothes Emily had decided to borrow. She tried to imagine Emily in her clothes. It was a bit of an adorable image. They were probably too big for her.

"Anyway, anything specific you think might fit me?"

Naomi dropped the bracelet she'd just picked up. Or Emily could be wearing nothing. That could be happening too. That was even probable. Now she was imagining Emily in nothing, and for fuck's sake why did her mind keep taking her in that direction today?

She nodded wordlessly and dug around in her bureau again. She came up with another jeans and t-shirt combo, figuring you could never go wrong with the basics. She thrust them at Emily. "You'll probably have to roll the jeans. The shirt should be perfect, though."

"Did you just make a crack at my height and sexuality at the same time?"

Naomi frowned, trying to think of what could possibly have been a gay comment in what she said, and couldn't find anything until she remembered what was on the shirt she'd given Emily. It was black and showed a drawn spine and ribcage, completely splashed and splattered with color, so it looked like the bones were dripping with paint. She'd thought it would be perfect for the artistic side of Emily, but the paint splatters were all different colors. Lots of different colors. A rainbow of colors, one might say.

She burst into laughter and Emily started giggling in response. It felt good just to stand and laugh with Emily.

Naomi jumped mile into the air at a knock on her door.

"Oh," her mum said in surprise, "hello, Emily. I didn't know you stayed over last night."

"Hi, Gina."

Well this was just fucking great. Naomi felt the tips of her ears burn and she was sure her entire face was turning red. Her mum had the worst timing in the history of the world. Just walk into the room while Emily is partially clothed, that seems like a good idea, and then afterwards she'd probably plan on walking in on them having sex for good measure.

Not that Naomi was planning on having sex with Emily. Just hoping. Really, really hard. No, wait, that was a bad way for her thoughts to go. Especially with Emily standing next to her in a towel. A towel that was very easily removed. And then there would be no barrier between her hands and Emily's smooth skin and…

_No. Fucking stop! Not fucking helping! _The dirty part of her brain slunk into a corner and grumbled but finally started to behave.

"Are you staying for breakfast?" her mum continued as if Emily wasn't having this conversation in a towel and nothing else. "I'm making pancakes."

"I'd love to. Did you ever find that spice you were looking for the other day?"

_Dear God, please kill me now, so that I may no longer have to be so ridiculously turned on stuck in a room while my mother and my best friend, with whom I am in a ridiculous amount of love and who happens to be partially naked, converse about breakfast._

Naomi's train of thought stopped so abruptly it probably left skid marks on the inside of her brain.

She'd said she was in love with Emily.

Okay, so maybe it was true, and maybe it had been true for a while, but she'd never actually admitted it, not even to herself. Almost to Effy, once or twice, but almost didn't count, and anyway, it didn't seem real until the words were actually in her mind, flashing in bright neon colors across the inside of her eyelids.

This felt like a big thing; this felt like something she should be freaking out about more. Instead all she did was feel a warm bubbling feeling in her chest. It was the same feeling she got whenever Emily got adorably protective and wrapped an arm around her. It was the same feeling she'd gotten the other night when Emily had said that she would stay with Naomi the whole night. It made her feel happy. It made her feel safe. It was a feeling she never wanted to go away.

Paired with the warm feeling in her chest was a cold knot in her stomach. A pit of ice cold fear so thick she didn't think any warm feeling could thaw it.

When had she fallen in love with Emily?

It could have been any of a whole number of times. The first time they'd ridden on the moped, or when they'd danced at the wedding, or when Emily had cuddled her through the thunderstorm and understood enough about Naomi's pride to know she'd be embarrassed about it. It _could _have been any one of those, but Naomi had a feeling it was the moment she'd handed Naomi one of her books and introduced herself.

"Earth to Naomi. Calling Naomi. Come in, Naomi."

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and focused on Emily's voice. "Sorry, what?"

Emily laughed. "I'm dressed, your mum is downstairs making breakfast, and you're still standing there in your own little world. Was it fun there, at least?"

Naomi smiled. "Yeah, it kind of was."

* * *

><p>"Touching you."<p>

"Wha-" Naomi yelped as she heard Katie speak and then felt a hand grab the fabric on the arm of her sweater and pull her out of the hallway. There was a sharp click of a door closing and then she felt the space around her abruptly shrink. They were in another room off the corridor, a much smaller room if she was any judge. "What the fuck, Katie! Saying you're going to touch me right as you grab me is about as effective as saying 'knock knock' when you're already opening a door."

It didn't even occur to her that she was way more annoyed with Katie than startled.

"And where the fuck are we?" she demanded.

"Supply closet. Ow!" There was a bang and Katie cursed loudly.

Naomi would have been smug if she wasn't so turned about and confused.

"Why are we in a supply closet?"

"Because I need to talk to you. Where is the fucking light in this fucking thing? It's pitch fucking black in here, I can't see a thing."

"Oh no, what a nightmare."

"The sarcasm was really fucking unnecessary, Naomi."

There was the flick of a light switch and Katie sighed in relief. "Much better. Anyway, have a seat Naomi."

Naomi swung her foot around in a small circle and heard it knock against plastic. "On a bucket?"

"Will you stop being difficult and sit down?"

"Will you stop acting like this is some kind of police interrogation?"

The two of them stood, Naomi with her arms across her chest and Katie huffing in annoyance, in a kind of Mexican stand-off until Katie snorted and Naomi heard her heave herself up onto a counter. "I can't even have a stare-down with you."

"I do lack some of the necessary elements for that," Naomi agreed.

"Just sit down, Campbell."

Naomi rolled her eyes but lowered herself carefully onto the bucket, making sure she sat where it was and not where it wasn't so that Katie didn't have any additional ammunition against her. Somehow this didn't sound like a friendly meeting. "Yes, can I help you with something?"

"Did you sleep with my sister last night?"

"Yes," Naomi blurted out before she could stop herself. "I mean, shit, no!" The temperature in the room dropped at least ten degrees. "I mean…only in the strictest of technical senses, where we actually slept, and not 'slept with' as in had sex. She slept at my house. But we didn't have sex. There was no sex happening at my house last night, except maybe my mum and Kieran, but that's not something I really want to think about, but definitely no sex between me and Emily."

"Okay, you can stop talking now."

Naomi shut her mouth with a click and pinched herself angrily. Fucking word-vomit again. Katie sighed and Naomi heard her kicking her feet against the counter wall.

"Campbell," Katie said wearily, "do you even watch TV?"

"It doesn't really do much for me, no."

"Yeah, I should have seen that one coming."

"Blind joke?"

"You know you're not as funny as you think you are," Katie snapped.

Naomi was smiling away to herself and she rubbed at her face to try and hide it. It didn't work, because Katie threw something at her. It was small and plastic and it bounced off her shoulder (Naomi winced). It was just too easy to rile Katie up sometimes, and hopefully it distracted the older Fitch twin from Naomi's completely idiotic ramble.

"Sorry," Naomi said unapologetically. "But random topic change much?"

"If you knew anything about TV you'd know that this is the time where you confess your undying love for my sister and we make a plan to help you get into her knickers. Not that I enjoy the idea that my sister's going to have sex, but that's not that point."

Naomi blushed bright red and bit her lip. "I'm not in love with your sister," she protested weakly.

"And I'm the fucking Queen of Sri Lanka."

"Do you even know where Sri Lanka is?"

"I know it exists, okay Naomi? We're talking about more important things here." The more annoyed Katie sounded, the bigger Naomi grinned. It was an automatic reaction. "And wipe that fucking smile off your face. I don't even know how my sister can stand you."

"I'm a lot nicer to her," Naomi said with a shrug. "And Sri Lanka is a Democratic Republic, not a monarchy."

"How do you even know that?"

"I read."

"Read what? A fucking encyclopedia?"

Naomi was stopped from answering by the door swinging open, and she had to shuffle forward on her little bucket seat in order to escape being hit by the door. She heard deep grunts and smelled a familiar cologne just before she heard Cook's voice.

"Katiekins, when you texted me to come to the second floor supply closet I thought it would be just us two and less clothes. Not that I mind if you're joining the willy-waggle, Blondie. More the merrier, I always say."

"You're not getting a threesome, Cook," Naomi snapped at the same time that Katie said, "Not with her."

"But you're down for some extras joining the shagging?" Cook latched on, delighted.

There was a heavy silence where Naomi resisted the urge to cover her ears and hum tunelessly. "Please tell me you didn't invite me in here to discuss you and Cook's I'm sure wonderful sex life," she pleaded.

"No," Katie said firmly, to Naomi's everlasting relief. "We're here to talk about you and how much you fancy my sister, and you getting a move on, because I don't care what Effy says I'm through with this whole mopey emo lesbian shit."

Naomi reeled back from the waves of HBIC that Katie was radiating. She shuffled farther down onto her bucket and pulled her knees up to her chest in her default defensive position. "So let's just say hypothetically I do fancy Emily," she said (and ignored Katie's snorted "Finally!"), "how would I even be able to tell if she liked me back?"

"Just kiss her again," Cook suggested flippantly. She heard him haul himself up next to Katie and wondered why she was the only one reduced to sitting on buckets on the floor.

"Cook, that idea is on par with 'no, kids, go with the nice older man, I'm sure his candy is fine'," Naomi said sharply.

"Oh come on, Blondie, what's the worst that can happen?" Cook asked.

"The complete and total implosion of our friendship."

"You're a real glass-half-empty person aren't you Naomikins."

"Ugh, how stupid can you be? I mean, really?" Katie asked. Naomi opened her mouth to defend herself but Katie steamrolled right on through. "I've seen the way you seem to magically know who's around you and even how they're feeling, Campbell. Just do that with my sister. It shouldn't be too hard. You spend enough fucking time together!"

Naomi scowled. "It's not magic, Katie," she snapped. "It's observational skills and practice at picking out emotions inside of voices. Something I have to do because I'm, you know, a little disadvantaged in a few areas." She made a vague hand motion in front of her eyes.

"So you look for non-verbal stuff, don't you?"

Naomi shrugged at Cook. "Yeah, still have a hard time looking for anything," she reminded him, and he cursed under his breath.

"Don't be such a cunt, Naomi," Katie said. "I'm sure you have your own stuff that you can do. Like I know Cook likes me 'cause his pupils dilate when he sees me in a low-cut top –"

"Like the one you're wearing now," Cook interrupted. "Fuck me, babes, we _are_ going to get some alone time at some point, right?" Naomi heard a light smacking sound and Cook grumbled.

"Cook, quiet," Katie ordered before Naomi could say anything, but she could tell Katie was pleased at the implied compliment. "Anyway, I also know, like, when he's feeling frisky cause his voice changes, right? So you can't see Emily's pupils, but you can hear her fucking voice, right? Just look for shit like that!"

Naomi hated to admit it, but Katie had a point. Mentally she felt a little like she'd been shoved into an amusement park ride and told to hold on. The rustling of clothes and the faint smacking of lips was a good distraction. She sighed. "I think you know when Cook is feeling frisky because he's very vocal about it and seems unable to keep his lips to himself," Naomi said, hooking onto the one part of the conversation that wasn't making her head reel with thoughts that felt like they were too big to contain.

Katie scoffed. "You're missing the point, Naomi."

She was saved from having to ask Katie what point it was that she was trying to make when her phone interrupted them all with its announcement of a new text from Emily. She didn't have to be able to see to know that Katie was smirking as she leaned back and worked her mobile out of the pocket of her jeans.

"_**Where are you? I thought you were with Effy but she says she hasn't seen you. E xx" **_

Naomi smiled a little bit at the text; it always made her stomach flip when Emily showed signs of concern. Her smile faded as she contemplated that thought in a new light. Emily was always concerned about her. Was Katie implying that there was more than friendship going on there?

She debated answering with _"your sister kidnapped me for real this time, please send help" _but before she could start to type the words Katie was ordering her around again. Katie seemed to like doing that.

"You should go," she said.

"So you can shag Cook?" Naomi suggested blandly.

"No, so you can go see my fucking sister and start figuring this shit out."

Naomi rolled her eyes and pursed her lips to hide her discomfort. She didn't like the feeling that there was something between her and Emily that needed to be worked out. "Fine."

"Great, I'll walk you out," Katie said, like it was actually an office and not a fucking supply closet or something. Seriously, the door was two feet away.

Katie leaned in a little closer as she opened the door and Naomi stopped, recognizing the signal for what it was, especially when Katie followed it up with a hesitant, "Naomi…"

"Yeah?"

"Just…" she could almost imagine Katie biting on her lip and shifting her weight, "don't blow this conversation off just because I'm not Effy, okay?" she said. "I know what I'm saying."

Naomi nodded seriously. No matter how flippant Katie seemed, the undertone of concern and care in her words was enough to make Naomi think maybe this was more important to Katie than she was letting on.

"Sorted. Now leave, 'cause I'm shagging my boyfriend."

"Ugh," Naomi groaned as Katie shoved her lightly out into the hallway and shut the door firmly behind her. She did not need to have those mental images flying around in her head.

That mental image was immediately replaced by being shut up in a supply closet with Emily, pushing her up against a wall and kissing her breathless. Naomi smiled to herself. Okay, maybe these random fantasies that kept popping up in her mind weren't so bad after all.

She heard some muffled fumbling from the closet behind her and hurried away. She didn't need to stay around and hear _that. _Plus, she had Politics with Emily to get to.

* * *

><p>JJ was walking her out of the maths class they shared just before Naomi's last class of the day when he stopped so suddenly that she almost sprained something in her shoulder.<p>

"What's up?" she asked as she rotated her shoulder, mildly annoyed.

"Lara's here," he said.

Naomi smiled at the happiness and slight disbelief she could hear in his voice. The fact that someone liked him, liked him the way that Katie liked Cook, or the way Effy liked Freddie, was a new feeling for JJ, she could tell. And now that she'd shown up at his school, when hers was halfway across town, he seemed to be in a mild state of shock. She elbowed him in the side with the arm he'd almost dislocated. "Go talk to her, then."

"I, um, okay," he spluttered. "But what about you?"

"I think I can manage to get to class on my own," she said acerbically. "And it's not like Emily doesn't usually meet us at my locker anyway."

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure."

"Hi Naomi!" Lara greeted cheerfully.

Naomi switched her books over to the crook of her elbow so she could wave. "Hey Lara. Have fun." She said it suggestively enough that she could practically feel the blush radiating off JJ in waves. It was cruel and kind of fun.

Lara just laughed and said a quick goodbye before she dragged JJ away. Naomi shook her head and pulled her cane out of her bag, extending it with the little wrist flick that always made her feel like a badass. Guide fully in place she headed off towards her locker, following the flow of traffic and keeping close to the wall, mentally picturing the turns she needed to take and approximately when they would turn up.

Partway there someone's shin got in the way of her cane. Naomi grimaced and apologized (the word "Sorry" was always on the tip of her tongue when she walked with her cane, which is why she avoided it at all costs), but apparently the person wasn't having any of it.

"The fuck, man," the girl she'd hit cursed roughly. "You knocked over my fucking coffee, yeah?"

"Oh," Naomi made a face and inhaled briefly, catching the lingering scent of coffee over the girl's pungent perfume. "Sorry again. Was it on the floor?"

"Yeah? What of it? You fucking spilled it all over the place you dozy cow."

Naomi's scrunched up mouth morphed into a scowl and she tilted her cane away and shifted the load in her arms so she could cross them across her chest defensively. "It was on the floor," she snapped, "it could've been knocked over by anyone. You shouldn't have put it down if you weren't willing to risk it. Watch your things next time."

It shocked her when she felt two hands shove her shoulders and her books and cane fell from her arms. "Hey!" she shouted as she stumbled back a few steps.

"You giving me cheek?" the girl asked, following her and shoving her again. Naomi went to smack her hands away but the girl moved back in time to avoid it. "I don't care what kind of handicapped you are, I'll knock you right the fuck out."

"Try me," Naomi snapped back angrily. Stupidly.

"Nah," she heard the other girl retreat away. Maybe she was getting looks from the crowd Naomi could feel gathering around them. Bullies usually backed down when they realized they were going to come off looking worse in a fight. "Too easy, innit. Why don't you just keep walking, and count yourself lucky I didn't decide to knock those glasses off your pretty little face."

The traffic in the hallway that had slowed with the promise of an impending fight started to pick up again, some helpful (and probably slightly guilty) people handed Naomi her books and cane back, and she figured it was over. The girl had been having a bad day and took it out on the first person to annoy her. Naomi made to move past her and forget the incident had ever happened, when something caught her ankle and she went flying. She hit the ground with a solid thud, and a small cry of pain, her glasses going askew and her things taking a flying leap out of her arms again.

It wasn't just the unexpectedness of the action, it actually had fucking hurt. Her hands stung from where they'd slapped against the linoleum and her hips and knees were sore from the impact.

"Oops," the same rough voice said above her. "You must've slipped in my coffee. Next time you should watch where you're going, huh?"

What came next was a blur of sounds Naomi was trying and failing to make sense of. Her anxiety spiked as the traffic in the hall stopped and the crowd abruptly pressed in much closer. She could hear and sense people crowding in and shoving each other to see better. She heard yelps from behind her and the clash of what sounded like someone being shoved into the lockers. The crowd started shouting and jeering, cheering on whatever was happening behind her.

Naomi scrambled up and pressed her back against the wall nearby, suddenly afraid that they would forget she was there with the way they were making so much noise and motion. Her heart pounded and scrunched her eyes shut like that would do anything to make it go away. There were two sets of yelling: the crowd, and the scuffle going on nearby. It sounded like someone getting shoved around, there were snarls and curses, and the smack of flesh hitting flesh.

And Emily's voice. Emily's voice shouting something. Naomi wanted to move, wanted to get up and go towards her, but her fear kept her against the wall.

Then someone was there, grabbing onto her arm and pulling her to her feet. Pulling her in the opposite direction of Emily. She tugged her arm away and the person moved closer still and put an arm around her shoulder. "Mon dieu!" a deep, fluid voice cursed near her ear. A familiar voice. Naomi relaxed and let Thomas shelter and her guide her through the crowd. She tucked into his side as he carved a pathway. "Arrête!" he snapped at someone, "Tout le monde est fou!"

Naomi counted to ten and they were out of the crowd. She took a deep, gulping breath of what felt like wonderfully fresh air. Thomas's hand rubbed soothing circles between her shoulder blades. "Breathe, Naoms," he encouraged her. Emily's nickname for her did the trick as her lungs started to move at a regular speed again.

"Is she okay?" Katie's voice snapped nearby. They'd moved farther away from the crowd now, until it was just muffled background noise, and she could clearly hear the clack of Katie's heels and the thump of Cook's trainers. "What's going on?"

There was another cheer from the crowd and a hand wrapped around Naomi's waist, bringing with it the hint of jasmine and cigarette smoke she could identify in her sleep now, almost as well as Emily's clean laundry and citrus. Effy.

"Cook, go break them up. Now," Effy ordered, her voice sharp and snappish, "before someone decides to come do something about all the noise. Freddie go help him."

Two sets of footsteps immediately ran back towards the crowd. The noise died down and a few people even groaned as Cook and Freddie broke up what Naomi could only deduce was a fight that had erupted right next to her. Traffic started to move normally again and Naomi felt Effy's hand tighten around her waist as the whole group moved into an empty room off the hall. It had to be a classroom because Effy made her sit down on top of one of the desks and focus on breathing, keeping an arm around her waist the entire time.

"Where's Emily?" she asked, her voice still panicked and her mind focused only on the fact that she'd heard Emily's voice in the crowd.

Nobody had time to answer before the door opened, and all the scuffling made it sound like the fight had merely changed locations.

"Fucking quit it, will you?" Cook grunted. "It's for your own good."

"Emily, stop!" Katie ordered.

"Let me go! Put me the fuck down, Cook!"

Naomi's head snapped up towards the sound of the noises, which she could now figure was probably Emily fighting against Cook's hold on her. But why was she fighting him? Had he pulled her out of the crowd too? Her frown grew and her nerves ratcheted up again.

"You're scaring Naomi!" Effy snapped.

All motion from the doorway stopped abruptly, and then Emily's familiar footsteps were crossing the floor and she wrapped her arms around Naomi. "I'm sorry," her low voice said directly into Naomi's ear.

Naomi melted into the hug, burying her face in Emily's hair and breathing in deeply until her scattered nerves finally settled themselves. She turned her head so her voice wouldn't be muffled, but she didn't remove it from Emily's shoulder when she asked, "What the hell happened?"

"Bloody chav girl tripped you up, didn't she?" Cook said, sounding a little out of breath. "And little Red decided to settle the matter with her fists.

Naomi wasn't a stupid girl. She made the connection immediately. Cook hadn't pulled Emily out of the crowd; Emily was the reason there _was _a crowd. Emily had been the one fighting. Naomi stiffened in Emily's arms and lifted her head, scooting away a little. Emily's hands dropped to the desk on either side of Naomi's legs.

"I think I want to go home now," Naomi said quietly. She gave Cook a tight-lipped smile when he patted her shoulder comfortingly.

Emily moved away, seeming to sense that Naomi didn't want to be touched anymore, and then said, "Okay. I'll drive you."

Despite the fact that Naomi was now so mad with Emily she couldn't even think straight, she nodded. A ride home on the moped was something she wouldn't ever turn down if she could help it.

* * *

><p>Naomi waited until Emily was in the house and then slammed the door shut behind them so hard the pictures her mum had hung up on the walls rattled. Bear, who she had heard running down the stairs at top speed, whined and sat down immediately. Even he knew better than to piss her off when she was already in a temper.<p>

"Okay," Emily said when Naomi just stood there with her arms crossed, glaring in her general direction, "I can see that you're mad."

"No, really?" Naomi snapped.

Emily inched a little closer and laid a hand on her arm. "However," she continued, "I took care of the girl so you don't have to worry about that anymore, if that's what you're mad about."

Naomi shrugged her hand off. "It's not."

"Oh." Emily seemed genuinely surprised. Naomi could almost imagine her frowning. "Then why are you so pissed?"

Naomi clenched her jaw and didn't answer. It didn't take Emily long to figure it out.

"Wait a second," she said, "you're mad at _me_? Why?"

"Why?" Naomi exploded. "Why the fuck do you think, Emily? You got into a fight in school!"

"Okay, _Mum_," Emily snapped back. "I punched a girl who had just shoved you down the hall, it's not like I went on a bloody rampage."

"I didn't ask you to!"

"You didn't have to!"

"It was my fight!" Naomi turned and walked out of the front hallway, kicking the leg of the hall table as she went. She sat down heavily at the kitchen table and cradled her head in her hands. She'd counted out a full sixty seconds before she heard Emily's footsteps follow her. "You can't do that," Naomi said when she heard the kitchen door open. Her voice was calm and even. "You can't just fight my battles for me."

"I want to," Emily answered, her voice small.

"I don't want you to," Naomi answered stubbornly.

"Why are you getting so mad, it was just a fight!"

It wasn't just a fight; it was Emily once again proving that she thought Naomi couldn't protect herself. That she needed to be defended. But even more than that, Emily had put herself into a situation where she could have been seriously hurt because of Naomi. For Naomi, even. And that wasn't something she wanted Emily to get into the habit of doing. Even just the thought of it made her heart beat faster.

"Did you get hurt?" she asked quietly, dangerously.

"No."

"Don't lie."

Emily sighed. "She got a few good swings in, yeah."

Naomi's frown deepened and she turned in her chair. "I can protect myself," she grumbled, but she didn't pull away again when Emily put her hands on her shoulders and turned her around.

"I'm sorry," Emily said quietly when Naomi didn't say anything for several minutes. "I mean, I'm sorry that you were afraid for me," Naomi winced and Emily continued, "but I'm not sorry for punching that girl, and if it happened all over again, I'd do the same thing. It's not that I think you can't protect yourself. I know you can. I just couldn't stop myself from wanting to do it for you. I'm sorry."

Naomi sighed and the rest of her irritation flowed out of her, bulldozed in the face of Emily Fitch being so fucking perfect. Almost immediately her mind jumped back to her talk with Katie in the supply closet. Had Emily not been able to stop herself because she'd been angry about her friend being pushed around…or had she gone swinging for that girl for the same reason that Naomi would have: because anyone who hurt Emily had to be hurt just as badly in return? "Don't do it again," she ordered, the side of her mouth crooked up in a small smile.

Her heart fluttered when Emily leaned forward and kissed her gently on the forehead. They both jumped away like they'd been burned when the door banged open.

"Oh, hello girls, you're home early." If her mum was surprised that Emily was at their house she didn't let it sneak into her voice. "Naomi, did you feed Bear before you left this morning?"

Naomi tried to not look as guilty as she felt when Bear whined. She hadn't, actually, mostly because she was too busy thinking about a half-naked Emily and all the different scenarios involved in that. Bear walked over and nudged her hand, presumably because he heard his name and the word "food" in the same sentence and he liked that conversation.

"Maybe?" she offered weakly. It didn't sound very convincing, even to her.

"Do it now and we'll pretend this conversation never happened."

Naomi slumped against the back of her chair and groaned. Her hands hurt, her knees hurt, and her heart was still pounding from the feeling of Emily's lips against her forehead.

"I don't want to move," she whined.

Emily kicked her ankle gently. "Git," she said affectionately. "I'll do it." Naomi heard the scrape of her chair as she stood up. "Where's his food?"

She opened cabinets under Naomi's direction as Bear followed her around giddily. She spoke to him the whole time about how she was sorry his mummy was a lazy twat and that she'd feed him right now. And Emily got another victory in her campaign to win over Naomi's heart by being the most adorable person ever created.

* * *

><p>Emily wound up staying to sit up in Naomi's room and do coursework. And then she stayed for tea. And then she was invited to stay for supper. This wasn't anything they talked about or planned, it was just that Naomi didn't want Emily to leave after their fight and Emily didn't seem very inclined to leave, and neither of them chose to mention that she probably should have gone home hours ago.<p>

Her mum had automatically set out an extra place for Emily at the table and Naomi picked at her food as she listened to them chatter around her.

Her thoughts were on Emily. Her thoughts were always on Emily these days, but ever since she'd talked to Katie it had been more so. Every moment between them was carefully studied and analyzed. Every gesture or sentence was picked apart and looked at from a couple different angles. Even just Emily grabbing her bag for her, or touching her arm a little too long when she leaned across Naomi to grab a book, or the way she'd chosen to sit with her feet pillowed against Naomi's legs when they curled up in her bed to listen to music.

"Emily, dear, what happened to your face?"

Naomi's head snapped up immediately as she was wrenched out her thoughts.

"It's nothing," Emily said a little too quickly. "It was my own fault."

"You punched yourself in the face?" Gina quipped.

"Of course not, love," Kieran rumbled. "Obviously she got into a fight with a door."

Emily huffed and Naomi would have laughed if her entire being wasn't focused on the fact that Emily had something wrong with her face. She'd been hurt and she hadn't said anything. Naomi scowled and dug her fork into her food with more force than was strictly necessary. Emily hadn't said anything, and of course there was no way Naomi could have known.

"I got into a fight at school," Emily admitted. "But it was over pretty quickly. We didn't even get caught. Er…I mean…"

Kieran guffawed. "You think I'm gonna give you detention or something, Emily? Too much paperwork. Who'd you fight?"

"Some chav girl. Really it was nothing."

"That bruise on your face doesn't look like nothing. Would you like some ice?"

Naomi's chair scraped back against the linoleum as she stood up and stalked over to the refrigerator before her mother could get up. Every movement was tense as she snatched a towel off the railing they usually hung on and filled it with a handful of ice and brought it back over. Her motions softened as she leaned over and pressed the now-cold bundle into Emily's hand, and Emily gave her wrist a squeeze before she pulled her hand all the way back.

"Hmm," Gina hummed. "And what exactly did this fight have to do with my daughter?"

"Why would you think it had anything to be with me?" Naomi asked shortly.

"Well, besides the fact that you looked like someone kicked your puppy when Emily mentioned the fight?" Bear whined underneath the table. "Not you, boy."

"She was just a bitch, Mum," Naomi said. "Let it go."

"Emily," Naomi did not like her mother's voice at all when Gina said her best friend's name. It was a voice of dawning realization. "Did you punch a girl who hurt my daughter?"

"Um…yes?"

Naomi heard her mother's chair as the older woman stood. "Mum, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting Emily a piece of dessert."

"We're already eating dessert."

"She's getting an extra helping."

Emily giggled and Naomi bit the inside of her cheek to stop her smile. Her mother was just reacting to what Naomi wanted now that her initial little temper tantrum had blown over. She'd been wrong to get so angry with Emily, and now that the knot in her stomach was gone it was replaced with a warm fluttering feeling. Naomi and her mum both wanted to say thanks, except her mother wanted to give Emily an extra piece of cake and Naomi wanted to rip Emily's clothes off and explore her body with her lips.

So, you know, two different kinds of thank you right there.

Gina clucked her tongue against the top of her mouth and tutted as she brought Emily another piece of cake (Naomi heard Emily dig into the extra sweets with a happy little moan that made heat pool in her lower stomach). "That'll be quite the bruise," she said as she sat back down. "Here, Naomi, feel, you can tell the difference."

Naomi kept her hands firmly in her lap when her mum tugged on the sleeve of her shirt. "I wouldn't know the difference," she admitted. "It's not like I've felt Emily's face before."

"Why haven't you?" Gina asked, her voice confused.

"Why would she?" Emily asked in the same tone of voice.

Naomi wished desperately that a very random and strangely convenient seismic shift would occur in her kitchen, so that the Earth could split in two and swallow her whole.

"It's how Naomi sees people," her mother explained patiently, all unaware of Naomi's fervent wish for her to suddenly lose the ability to speak. "She touches their faces with her hands and she gets a mental image of what they look like."

"Oh." There was so much going on in that one little word. It was a tiny syllable, but it held a lot of emotion that Naomi strained to decipher. Confusion, hope, anxiety; it flickered through too many for her to hold on to. "It never came up, I guess."

Thankfully the conversation moved onto safer topics after that, but Naomi was just as quiet at the end of dinner as she was at the beginning. There was a specific reason that Naomi had never felt Emily's face before (her mother called it 'face braille', which she found hilarious and Naomi found embarrassing) and it was mostly down to self-preservation. Number one: it was very awkward to ask someone to sit still so that you could touch their face, and not something one usually brings up in conversation. Effy had asked how she normally knew what people looked like, once, and Naomi had explained face braille to her, but she'd hadn't asked and Effy hadn't offered, because they'd been new friends then, and lately every time they'd been alone they'd talked about Emily.

And number two: by the time she felt comfortable enough with everyone to suggest it, she'd already figured out her feelings for Emily, and now she just didn't trust herself to be that close and not try and kiss Emily again. Which, if what Katie insinuated was true, may not be as badly received as she thought. But then again…now she was just thinking in circles.

She sighed and ate another piece of cake and tried to calm her thoughts.

It didn't work.

* * *

><p>Emily Fitch's voice should be illegal.<p>

Seriously, there should be a law against a voice that was that effortlessly sexy, that warmly comforting, that wonderfully entrancing. Naomi could literally sit and listen to it for hours (had done so, actually). The little hitches in her words, the husky quality to it, the way it flowed smoothly into Naomi's ears and wrapped her up like her favorite blanket; Naomi didn't have a favorite part of Emily, since every part of Emily was sort of her favorite part (Emily was pretty much her favorite, full-stop), but if she had to choose it would probably be her voice.

Or her hands. For much dirtier reasons, although none that she could say she'd had the pleasure of experiencing yet.

"Here, catch this casket," Emily was saying, reciting the lines that Naomi knew already. She'd gone over Merchant of Venice in her head twice now, she could pretty much recall the entire play, but she'd never tell Emily that because she liked when Emily read to her, and she couldn't imagine being the cause of it stopping. "It is worth the pains. I am glad 'tis night, you do not look on me."

They were in Naomi's bed again, lounging while Emily caught them up on their English coursework. Naomi's head was pillowed against Emily's thigh and the urge to turn her head and place a kiss against Emily's knee was great, but she couldn't do that yet.

Naomi gave herself a swift mental kick. _Don't add 'yet' to sentences like that, dunce, _she scolded herself. _It could be never. Don't get your own hopes up. _

But her hopes were rising all on their own, ignoring any attempts she made to suppress them. All she had to do was kiss Emily and that would decide everything. The way they continued forward hinged on Emily's reaction. And she still had that fear holding on to her: that despite everything, despite Katie's words and Effy's urging and everything in between, that she'd been imagining something going on between them, and that the moment she kissed Emily she'd be rejected.

"For I am much ashamed of my exchange," Emily went on, and Naomi mouthed along to the next line, "But love is blind, and lovers cannot see the pretty follies that themselves commit."

Emily stopped talking and Naomi frowned when she heard her put the book aside and wiggled her leg a bit. Taking this as a sign that she was making it fall asleep, Naomi sat up and was surprised when she heard Emily sniffle.

"Ems?" she turned herself around quickly, so they were facing each other. "What's the matter?"

"Why haven't you asked to do the face braille thing?" Emily asked, and her voice was tight with suppressed emotion. "I thought…I'm your best friend, right? Because you're mine and I just…"

"Emily," Naomi interrupted sharply to stop her rant. She took a deep breath and shuffled forward a little bit. "You're the best friend I've ever had. It wasn't that I didn't want to it was that I've never done it with anyone but my mum and Kieran and, well, there's really no way to bring it up in regular conversation is there?" She grinned wryly and Emily giggled, sounding more normal. "I can't just be like, 'here, let me touch your face, no it's okay it's just face braille'." Emily laughed then and Naomi relaxed.

At least until Emily grabbed her hands and brought them up to her cheeks, and then her whole body tensed all over again. She pulled her hands away quickly, but Emily grabbed her wrist before she could remove them all the way.

"Do it now?" she asked. Her voice was small, like she was afraid that Naomi would say no.

_Like I would ever say no to you_, Naomi thought as her heart started going double-time in her chest. She was sure Emily could hear it, and maybe see it based on how hard it was beating the inside of her ribs.

"I, um," Naomi had to swallow twice to get past the solid lump of nerves that had lodged itself in her throat. "Okay. Sit like this, then." She crossed her legs and felt the weight shift in the bed as Emily mirrored her. She moved forward until their knees touched and tugged her wrists out of Emily's grip. Emily let her go and Naomi took a moment to steel her nerves. She hoped her hands didn't shake. She lifted her hands and cupped Emily's cheeks softly, relishing in the warmth of her skin underneath her fingers. Everything was suddenly quiet, like the world had stopped and turned to watch this moment.

The moment felt intimate and fragile, like one quick move or loud noise would shatter it.

Then she moved her hands.

She felt more than heard Emily's breath catch in her chest when her thumb brushed along her bottom lip. Naomi kept it there for a second, fascinated by the reaction, wondering if it felt the same as when Emily had done it to her. It felt soft and warm under the pad of her thumb and smooth, so smooth. She wanted to replace her thumb with her lips and bite down, just a tiny nip, just a taste. Emily took a deep breath and she remembered to move on.

Her fingers trailed along the line of her jaw, and found the point of her chin. She brushed her thumb across Emily's skin for a moment before her hands moved on. They traveled up the sides of her face and across her forehead, finding a scar near her hairline that Naomi hadn't known about. She wanted the story of that scar. Had it happened recently, or had a little Emily fallen and hurt herself?

On she went, down the bridge of her nose and back across the top of her lip again. The tip of her index finger dipped into the crevice just above Emily's lip and she felt the hot air as Emily breathed out quietly. Her thumb moved on its and own circled the corner of Emily's jaw, traced where her heart was beating in her neck, and maybe it was her imagination or hopeful thinking, but it felt a bit fast.

She made the whole rotation all over again, determined to cover every single centimeter of Emily's face, now that she had this chance. She had to keep reminding herself to breathe in and out, to keep air moving through her lungs. She brought her fingers up the smooth skin of Emily's cheek, feeling an adorable dimple as she smiled into Naomi's touch. The tips of her fingers stopped to play with the soft hair at her temple, being careful not to press too hard as she explored that area. They moved up to the soft shell of her ear, tracing over the hard metal piercings there. She counted them in her head and marked their spots. She moved three fingers along the back of her ear and down her neck where she couldn't resist running her hands quickly through that impossibly soft hair. _Red_, she told herself with a smile. _Bright red. _

Back around the front of her neck and up to her face again, paying more attention to her features: to delicate curve of her button nose, the elegant arch of her eyebrows, the small bump in the right one that told her there could be a piercing there, if Emily wanted to put one in, very gently brushing across her eyelids and feeling soft eyelashes flutter against her skin.

Her hands told a story, sketching out Emily's features for her, and with every inch of skin that she covered Naomi got a clearer image of Emily in her mind.

The image was far more beautiful than anything Naomi could ever create on her own.

There was a sharp intake of breath when Naomi ran her fingers along her cheek again, and she quickly stopped putting pressure on her hand, stopped breathing completely as she was abruptly reminded of the bruise that was apparently even now forming spectacularly along her friend's cheekbone. She could feel the difference in the skin, now that she was intimately familiar with the rest of her face. There was a slight puffiness, a swelling, the definite signs of a bruise. A bruise that Emily got defending _her. _She still felt guilty about that, and it must have shown on her face because Emily brought her hand up to cover Naomi's fingers.

"It's okay," she said quietly. It felt like Emily recognized the fragility in the moment to, with the way she kept her voice soft as if, if she spoke too loud, it would shatter.

Despite her assurances, when Emily put her hand back down Naomi leaned forward, following the line of her arm, and pressed a kiss against the damaged skin. She held her lips there for a long moment and wished with all her might that the lies they were told as children were true: that a kiss really could heal hurt. Emily's hand tightened on her knee. Naomi ran her nose along Emily's cheek and bumped their noses together.

"You're beautiful," she breathed against Emily's skin, her stomach in knots. They were so close together now, one of her hands wrapped around the back of Emily's neck, Emily's hands resting lightly on her knees. They were sharing the same space, the same air, and neither was pulling away. She didn't need to see, now, because she could _feel _everything. She could feel Emily's heartbeat as it raced under her fingertips where they rested against her skin, she could feel Emily's hands shaking where they tightened their grip on the denim covering her legs. There was a moment, a suspended heartbeat, where not even the air moved, as if the whole world was waiting for something spectacular to happen. Then Emily's lips were on hers.

_Oh_.

The world exploded inside Naomi's head as her body tried to process what was happening, but her lips didn't need the time to process, they just reacted to what they'd been longing for since that first kiss weeks ago.

For a moment Emily didn't move and Naomi was afraid she had made a terrible mistake. But then Emily's hands lifted slowly off her knees and grabbed onto Naomi's arms. Naomi's hand came up as well and rooted into Emily's soft hair. She was afraid if she let go then Emily would pull away and everything would get taken from her.

Her heart pounded. She felt like she couldn't breathe, and she didn't want to think past this moment, because she was so afraid that Emily's lips would disappear from hers. She let herself just feel it as her lips moved gently against Emily's, so exceedingly gently. Her lips were smooth and warm and sent bolts of electricity running up and down Naomi's spine. Emily's fingers clenched and unclenched around her upper arms, like she wanted to hold tightly onto Naomi but was afraid of grasping too hard and breaking her. For her part, Naomi's other hand stayed on Emily's cheek, her fingers brushing lightly over the surface of the skin, the movement soft and tender because Emily already had a bruise there, and she didn't want to be the cause of more pain for Emily.

Eventually they had to break apart for air, but Naomi didn't want to move too far away. She couldn't stop her mind from racing and all of the 'what if's' that flashed at the forefront of her brain were tormenting her: what if Emily stopped and thought, what if she decided she didn't want this, what if she pulled away, what if the next words out of her mouth were 'you're my best friend, Naoms, but…'.

That couldn't happen. Naomi scrunched up her face and prayed with all her might, to all the deities she could possibly think of, for that not to happen, because Naomi couldn't let go of how it felt to finally kiss Emily. She couldn't give it up now that she'd experienced it, not now that she'd tasted Emily's lips, felt her hands hold tightly on, felt the little hitch in her breath as she moved closer. She'd never be the same again. She'd changed fundamentally, and all from a simple kiss.

Emily didn't move away, though, and instead kept hold of Naomi's arms. Naomi rested her forehead softly against Emily's and for a few minutes they just breathed; deep, gasping breaths as they sucked in air that slowly morphed into quieter, shallow ones. Her heart didn't stop racing, though, and actually started going harder when Emily's hands moved up and rubbed soothingly at the back of her neck.

It was a movement so heartbreakingly familiar and comforting, and Naomi had no idea where it came from, because she definitely wasn't in need of comforting at the moment. She wasn't even close to being upset: if anything she was elated, she'd just gotten the one thing she'd been longing for, and the only shadow looming over her was the terror that Emily would pull away, or that this would somehow all be a dream and she'd wake up soon and it would be gone, but the longer Emily stayed close the less likely that seemed to be.

"You okay?" Emily asked.

For a moment Naomi couldn't even comprehend the words. All she heard was the voice they were said in, and how low and husky it was, and how she could feel the words in every fiber of her being, every atom, practically, when Emily's hot breath ghosted across her lips.

She couldn't put it into words how okay she was in that moment. She was more than okay; she was the most alive that she'd felt in a long time, but her insides were twisted into knots and her heart was still racing like it was trying to break some kind of record, and so all she could manage was a little nod against Emily's forehead.

It wasn't until she began to stroke Emily's cheek with her thumb that she realized she was shaking, and maybe that was the cause for Emily's concern.

She shook her head, then, like she was trying to shake thoughts back into her mind, but it didn't work. All she was doing was feeling right now, feeling _everything_, and all she wanted was for Emily to kiss her again.

Just as if she read her mind Emily leaned forward and kissed her again. It was light and tentative, and felt a little like Emily was trying to kiss away her fears, but right at that moment Naomi's only fear was that Emily was going to pull away again. When she didn't Naomi brushed their lips together again more forcefully, and they were properly kissing once more and Naomi's heart had rocketed into the stratosphere and decided to stay there. Emily moved one hand up to cup Naomi's cheek and Naomi let hers slide down and grip Emily's arm. All the noises in the outside world were muffled inside their little bubble, and all she could hear was their shallow breathing mingling and the quiet sound their lips made whenever they moved together.

It was about this time that Naomi realized she wasn't just kissing Emily, she was properly snogging her. This kiss they were sharing, it wasn't like anything she'd ever experienced before. Not any kisses she'd ever had with any boys. Not even like the last kiss she'd shared with Emily, in the door of her house with an audience looking in on them. This kiss felt like it was promising her the world and like it was wrapping her up in a protective bundle and shielding her from the world all at once. This kiss felt like it was moving her very soul; shattering it and rebuilding it as something new.

Naomi moved to take the initiative, then. She pulled away for a brief second to change her angle and the next kiss was a little more open-mouthed. The fluttering in her stomach erupted out of control when she felt the slightly wet warmth of Emily's lips overlapping hers, kissing the top lip gently, and then her higher thought processes ceased altogether at the first soft brush of Emily's tongue against her lips. Naomi brought her tongue out to meet it and couldn't stop the quiet moan that escaped the back of her throat at the sensation, which was swallowed by Emily as she hummed into the kiss.

They broke apart again, gasping for breath, and now Naomi pulled back. This was too much, all of it was too good to actually be happening. That Emily was kissing her and enjoying it, kissing her and not pulling away, was a little beyond her comprehension. Her hands were still shaking. And so she was the one to pull away, bringing her hands back towards herself, and Emily caught one in both of hers and held it in her lap.

"Naomi?"

"Is this real?" she blurted out, her voice small and a little tremulous.

She felt the soft press of lips against hers again very quickly, reassuring her. "I want it to be," Emily answered.

Naomi let out all of her breath at once, a little shakily. "I want it to be, too."

Emily's thumb was still tracing soothing circles across the back of her hand, and her other hand was still cradling Naomi's cheek. Naomi burrowed her face into it and breathed in deeply, catching the faint hint of perfume on Emily's wrist.

She gathered her courage and kissed Emily's palm gently before words started tumbling out of her mouth; words that she had to say if she was ever going to stop shaking and questioning her reality.

"When I realized I liked you, it terrified me. Because you're my best friend and I didn't want to lose you, but then Effy started to be all cryptic and probing and got me wondering, and then Katie started saying things and I thought maybe you did like me and I got hopeful, and that was almost worse because what if I was wrong, and then –"

"I do like you."

Naomi breathed deeply and smiled into Emily's hand before she turned back to where she knew Emily's face was lingering close by. "I know," she said, biting her lip to try and keep her grin in check. It didn't work and Emily squeezed her hand before she leaned in and kissed her again.

She let herself get lost in just kissing Emily. She forgot about homework and her mum and Kieran downstairs, she forgot about Effy and Katie and their meddling, she even forgot about being blind, because it didn't matter when her eyes were closed and Emily's lips were on hers. She let herself focus instead on Emily and the sensation of her fingers curling into the little hairs at the back of Naomi's neck, on the small, smothered gasp when she reached out and trailed her fingers across Emily's cheek again. It was incredibly sensual, kissing Emily. It was fairly innocent kissing, at that, and heat started to pool in her lower stomach as her mind wandered to what it would feel like when they went further (and how wonderful it was that that was a 'when' and not an 'if' now).

Several long minutes later they finally pulled apart again, and Emily giggled like she just couldn't contain her happiness and tucked her head into Naomi's shoulder to try and muffle it. Naomi smiled and turned her head to brush a light kiss against Emily's ear, which earned her another giggle and Emily momentarily trying to squirm away from her lips.

Her heart, which had been racing so fast she couldn't even tell the individual beats anymore, finally started to slow down, so that she didn't feel so much like a hummingbird was trapped inside her chest anymore. She had read somewhere once that a hummingbird's heart can beat up to 1200 times a minute, and it no longer felt like hers was trying valiantly to break that record. Emily's hand played with the front of her shirt, just above the organ Naomi had just been musing about, and her heart sped up again at the touch. Emily Fitch was going to be the death of her.

"How did you know?" Emily asked suddenly, her voice muffled by Naomi's shirt.

Naomi frowned a little. "What?"

Emily sat back, leaving Naomi a little cold in her wake, and squeezed her hand again. "How did you know that I liked you? I mean apart from Effy and Katie's meddling. I'm going to have to have words with those two."

"I'm going to have to send them a gift basket."

Emily laughed again and Naomi's smile grew to ridiculous proportions, because Emily's laugh was really one of the most beautiful sounds the world had to offer.

"I'm serious."

"Seriously, does your sister like chocolate?"

"Naomi!"

If Naomi had ever thought that Emily's voice was sexy before (and she'd thought that quite often, even before she'd known that she had feelings for her), it was nothing compared to right at that moment. Emily's husky just-kissed voice was sex personified.

"Really, though, how did you know?"

Naomi shrugged and started to play with Emily's hand, running her fingers across the palm and over her wrist, tracing up and down her joints until Emily threaded their fingers together and squeezed again. "Lots of little things," she said finally. "I mean, after I figured it out, and after your sister and her best friend gave me a good whack upside the head," she paused to let Emily giggle again. "It just seemed like we'd find excuses to touch each other, and when we did, your touches lingered, not that I minded, obviously," she squeezed Emily's hand back for emphasis. "Your voice changed when you talked to me. Your breath hitched when I touched your face." She reached her hand out and brushed her thumb across the corner of Emily's mouth, feeling the smile on Emily's lips. "You kissing me was a pretty good indication too, of course."

Emily nudged her shoulder. "Cheeky," she scolded, but Naomi could hear the laughter in her voice. There was a quiet moment before Emily asked, "If you knew, why didn't _you _just kiss _me_?"

Naomi shrugged again and tilted her head down. "I dunno," she said quietly. "I was afraid you'd kiss back and then regret it, I guess."

Emily put two fingers underneath her chin and brought her head back up again. She kissed Naomi again, long and tenderly, and Naomi could feel her smile into the kiss, and it made her smile too. "Trust me," Emily whispered against her lips, "kissing you is the one thing in my life I would never regret."

In a burst of bravery Naomi kissed her again and moved forward. Emily fell backwards with a cute little squeak as Naomi pushed her into the pillows, and Naomi broke the kiss for a moment to murmur, "Oh really?"

Emily nodded and Naomi could feel the motion as her chin swiped along the side of Naomi's face.

"Naoms, I've wanted to kiss you from the moment you told me that you didn't need eyes to know I was beautiful," Emily admitted breathlessly.

Naomi paused. That had been the second day they met. Emily had liked her for that long? Instead of feeling freaked out, Naomi was elated. _Emily had liked her for that long_. She grinned down at Emily, who was wiggling underneath her in a very distracting manner.

"And I probably shouldn't have told you that," Emily continued sheepishly, and Naomi realized her movements had been embarrassed and not intentionally provocative. "I would really like to shut up now."

"I could accommodate that" Naomi said. She didn't wait for a response and just leaned down to kiss her again. As Emily's tongue swiped along her bottom lip, and Naomi settled into the kiss, she wondered why she'd ever wasted so much time not doing it, because now she very definitely didn't want to stop.

* * *

><p><strong>An: Oh my fucking god FINALLY. (Also lizardwriter's mildly indignant "They kiss for four pages?" made me laugh so hard. Yes they kiss for four pages, they fucking earned it.) So hopefully that was worth the wait and you could tell me if you think The Kiss was everything you'd hoped it would be. Favorite line? Favorite part? Least favorite part? Let's chat. **

**Also I'm so happy this is chapter 12. I mean technically in the story timeline it's chapter 10 but on the website it's listed as chapter 12 and that just tickles me pink because _since she was twelve you guys _and I mean I know that doesn't apply here because it's AU but STILL. **

**Loves and kisses to all. **

**Cheers! ~FS**


	13. Chapter Eleven: Emily

**A/n: Let me start this off by saying that I am SO SORRY. I never meant for there to be such a big gap between chapters. For those who don't follow my Twitter/Tumblr, what happened was about a week after the last chapter my computer died a horrible death. There was much pleading involved from myself for it to work again, to no avail. It took a while for my broke-ass self to get the money to fix it, and even more time for it to be fixed. Two days after I got it back the semester started again. Also I've been living in a constant state of exhaustion, whether from stress or medical reasons I don't know, but either way it meant there was a long gap for which I sincerely apologize. Hopefully I'll get back into the groove soon.**

**Big big big big big hand to the always magnificent Lizardwriter for the beta on this. Love you lots, brain twin. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

* * *

><p>Emily could multitask pretty well. Specifically, she could do her homework, eat, dance, and think about kissing Naomi at the same time. It was a refined set of skills, and the ability to do all of them at once was imminently useful when she was running late. She had a routine going by now: read a paragraph, take a bite of cereal, shuffle feet around, spend thirty seconds remembering the taste of Naomi's lips, lather, rinse, repeat.<p>

She hummed along to the song playing softly from the kitchen radio as she made a note in the margin of her notebook, although the humming became distinctly garbled when she took another bite of cereal. The plethora of noises coming from the rest of the house told her she wouldn't be alone in the kitchen for long, but just for the moment she was in a pleasant little bubble and she hoped it stayed that way for just a couple of minutes more, at least.

The only thing that even dented her aura of happiness was the rain outside, and that was only because it meant she was taking the bus today and wouldn't see Naomi until they got to school. It hadn't even been a full twenty-four hours since she'd seen Naomi last, but ever since they'd kissed Emily's brain had turned from her usual slightly tame Naomi-obsession to an all-Naomi-all-the-time channel, and it was stuck there.

She smiled as she shoveled the last bite of her cereal into her mouth and lifted the bowl up to drink the milk that remained at the bottom; the smile made a little bit of milk drip onto her chin and she snorted at herself as she wiped it away. Her smile hadn't faded at all in the last twelve or thirteen hours. She was pretty sure she continued to smile in her sleep, actually, and thinking about seeing Naomi again only made the smile brighter.

There was one niggling doubt in the back of her mind, but her general sunniness did its best to push it away. The only thing wrong was that they hadn't really talked about anything: she'd confessed to liking Naomi, yes, and Naomi had made some mentions of liking her too, yes, and they'd kissed for a really long time, fuck yes, but…they hadn't talked. Naomi had walked her to the door and kissed her goodbye at the end of the night, but beyond a quick text saying that she'd gotten home fine she hadn't communicated with Naomi since. That was the niggling doubt creeping up on her: that Naomi was freaking out, or that she didn't want to go public, or that, when she said she liked Emily, she hadn't meant that she actually wanted to be in a relationship with her. That was the only way that Emily would be with Naomi, though. A real relationship; a serious one. Naomi wouldn't be a fling. She wanted to be Naomi's girlfriend for as long as she was physically able to be.

Emily executed a slide a la 'Risky Business' and wondered if Naomi was going to inspire many more of these early morning dance sessions. If so, Emily was going to start thinking about investing in some better speakers.

"Good morning, Emily."

She stopped mid-hip-thrust and only iron control stopped her from choking on her orange juice. She swallowed thickly, realized halfway down that she'd taken way too big of a swallow, powered through, and only when she was sure that her breakfast was not about to make a surprise reappearance did she greet her mother.

"Morning, Mum." She tried to discreetly wipe some orange juice from the corner of her mouth. Sometimes standing in front of her mother was like being in front of a drill sergeant. Except that wasn't really fair to drill sergeants, who on the whole, were probably very lovely people.

Emily pulled herself out of the sudden mental image her brain conjured up of her mother in a uniform shouting at a series of soldiers and reached over to turn the music down. She grabbed an apple as her hand passed the bowl on the way back, intending to offer it to her mother like some sort of appeasement. _Dear goddess of wedding planning and judgment, please take this fruit that is offered unto thee and refrain from raining down snide homophobic remarks, sincerely Emily Fitch._

Her mother bypassed the peace offering and started making coffee, and Emily nibbled on the apple instead. Waste not, want not. She always ate like she had a hollow stomach anyway, and somehow managed to not gain an ounce. It was a miracle. Or a high metabolism. Possibly black magic.

JJ usually teased that Emily was 85% stomach. The other 15%, Effy would usually add, was all in her sex drive.

For a while there was just tense silence in the kitchen, interrupted only by random sounds: the steady rain against the window, the bubble of the coffee machine, Katie abusing James somewhere upstairs.

"So," Jenna said when the silence got too tense for her to bear, "how is Naomi?"

Emily choked on the bit of apple she'd just taken a bite of and had to cough violently to get it out of her throat. Her mother took several hasty steps forward and rubbed her back until Emily got herself under control and then she immediately moved away. It made Emily a little sad, because for a moment she was reminded of the woman who had put plasters on her scraped knees and kissed her forehead when she tucked her in at night. She hadn't seen glimpses of that woman for a while, time and the stresses of adult life having changed her mother drastically. Time did that.

"She, um," Emily hit her chest a little with a fist and cleared her throat, "she's fine."

Jenna nodded and turned around. Emily stared at the back of her mother's shirt and tried to figure out if she was in a parallel universe or not. She didn't think she was, but between kissing Naomi and the way her mother was acting this morning it was starting to look like a possibility.

"She's an exceptionally rude girl," Jenna said suddenly. Emily glared at her and felt the world shift back into place. Then her mother turned around and gave her a very small, very sad smile. "You should invite her and her parents over for dinner sometime." Then she screwed the cap of her travel mug of coffee on, kissed Emily very quickly on the forehead, and left for work.

Emily just sat at the island for a long time and blinked at the air. That was how Katie found her a few minutes later.

"What's wrong with you, freak?" Katie asked. She snapped her fingers in front of Emily's face when she got no response. "Hello? Earth to Emily. I'm talking to you."

Emily shook her head back and forth to clear it and blinked at her sister. "What are the symptoms of a concussion?" she asked seriously.

Katie rolled her eyes and finished zipping her jacket up, now reassured that there was nothing seriously wrong with Emily. "How the fuck should I know?" she asked. "What happened? You knock your head against Naomi's thick skull?"

Emily put her glasses in the sink and picked up her backpack, frowning thoughtfully. "Mum invited Naomi over for dinner again. And she was nice to me. It was…"

"Good?"

"Disorienting, was the word I was thinking of."

"Maybe she's turning over a new leaf."

"Leaves don't matter when the whole tree is rotted."

"Emily…" Katie looked at her with sad eyes and Emily relented. She knew how much it hurt Katie, this rift that neither she nor their mother seemed to know how to bridge.

She threw her arm around Katie's shoulders and kissed the side of her head quickly, before she could squirm away. "Sorry," she apologized. She tried not to smile when Katie predictably ducked out of her grasp and acted like this touchy-feely moment wasn't happening. "I'll try as long as she does."

Katie nodded, seemingly satisfied with this answer, and they both went back to their respective morning activities: Katie to making herself a bowl of cereal and Emily to homework she'd been attempting to complete. They spent a few minutes in comfortable silence until she voiced something that had been tickling the back of her mind.

"Why invite Naomi, though?" she wondered aloud. "I guess I can understand her trying to make things up with me, I guess, but she _hates _Naomi. With, like, the intensity of a thousand suns all focused on a singular point."

"Maybe Naomi made an impression on her."

Emily's head snapped up and her eyes narrowed as she studied her sister carefully. Katie was smirking into her bowl of cereal. It was entirely too suspicious.

"What do you know?" she demanded.

Katie's innocent face when she looked up was _too _innocent. Her whole body seemed to be saying 'Who, me? I've no idea what you could possibly mean_.' _Katie's perfection of the innocent look had gotten her out of more trouble than anyone could possibly count. Emily wasn't fooled.

"Nothing," Katie said quickly. "I'm just saying, Naomi could have said something that made her re-think."

"_When_?" Emily frowned. "They've met a grand total of three times, and I was there for all of them."

The way Katie squirmed a little in her seat made Emily think that over again, just to be sure, and she realized that she hadn't been with Naomi the _whole _time that she'd been in her house.

"Katie…" she said warningly. Katie's innocent look started to falter. Much like Katie had known immediately that something had happened between her and Naomi last night (and had immediately asked for details, then predictably rolled her eyes and called her a soppy lezza), Emily knew when Katie was lying, and it was only a matter of time before she cracked. "What happened during dinner?"

"Nothing," Katie said unconvincingly, and then added when she saw that she wasn't fooling anybody, "Nothing that you need to worry about, anyway. Naomi handled herself."

"Handled herself how?"

"I told you not to worry about it."

"Okay," Emily nodded and pushed herself slowly back away from the table. "Well, you've brought this on yourself."

It was Katie's turn to narrow her eyes at her sister. "Brought what on? Hey!"

Emily shoved her chair completely away and bolted out the door to the kitchen and up the stairs, taking them two at a time in her rush to get a bigger head start. She could hear Katie scrambling to catch up behind her, yelling at her the whole time, and she smiled as she burst into their room. She snatched up the magazine that was sitting in the place of honor on Katie's nightstand and jumped up onto her sister's bed. Katie burst into the room angrily and stopped in her tracks when she saw Emily holding the magazine high above her head.

"Put that down," Katie ordered.

Emily shook her head and gripped the magazine tighter. It was a limited edition of Katie's favorite magazine that had proclaimed David Beckham the Sexiest Man Alive and had a whole photo spread of the football star in various stages of undress to prove it.

"Tell me right now or David gets ripped in a whole new way," Emily threatened, holding the magazine between both hands and tugging a little for emphasis. She wouldn't actually rip Katie's magazine, and she actually felt a little cruel, but Katie had once shoved her off their bunk beds when they were kids. Emily had broken two fingers and had to go the hospital. She still hadn't gotten back at her for that.

Katie crossed her arms and scowled, but gave in. "Mum cornered her by the bathroom and was a real bitch to her, and Naomi gave her an earful."

"Details," Emily ordered. She raised the magazine a little bit when Katie tried to grab it.

"Emily, give me my fucking magazine!" Katie snapped. She attempted to jump up onto the bed but Emily shoved her off.

"I will when you give me details!"

"I can't even remember," Katie grumbled, looking petulant and pouting. She relented when Emily made another threatening motion at the magazine. "Ugh, fine! She told Mum that she was an idiot for not seeing how awesome you are and then she called you like smart and beautiful and amazing and said pretty much what I've been saying the whole time, except Naomi wants to jump your bones."

Every hormone in Emily's body stood at attention and starting waving enthusiastically. "Did she say that?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "No, but you don't have to be a genius to work it out. Can I have my magazine back now?"

Emily jumped down off the bed and handed her the magazine. She even kissed Katie's cheek as she passed and ducked the smack Katie sent her way as she mumbled about Emily being a bi-polar bitch and why was she the only normal person in the house.

* * *

><p>"So, Katie's Beckham magazine huh?"<p>

Emily looked up and grinned as Effy slid into the bus seat beside her. "It worked, didn't it?"

Effy shook her head and lit up her cigarette, in blatant disregard for the red and black 'thank you for not smoking' sign on the nearby window. "You're an evil girl, Emily Fitch."

"You've taught me well."

Effy laughed, and even Katie had to chuckle, but the laughter turned into shrieks as the boys bounded onto the bus and immediately began to cause havoc. Cook stopped right next to them and shook like a dog. The water on his jacket sprayed all over the rest of them and he didn't stop until Katie smacked him upside the head. He sat down next to Katie in the very back while Freddie stretched his entire lanky body between two of the seats and sat back eating the muffin in his hand with all the fervor of a dying man.

"You all right there, Freds?" Emily asked.

He looked up at her and gave her a slightly mashed smile, and that's when she noticed his pupils were dilated. "Absolutely dandy, Em," he answered cheerfully around a mouthful of his food, which he then went back to eating.

"Freds has been obsessed with that muffin for the past fifteen minutes. It's like he's in love with the thing," JJ said as he took a seat in front of them and carefully fluffed out the collar of his jacket. "It leads me to believe he may have had drugs before breakfast this morning."

Freddie took another bite and moaned a little. "This muffin is like sex," he said reverently.

"Except you're having it, right Freds?" Cook cackled.

Bags went flying as Cook scrambled across seats to get away from Freddie's lunges at him. Emily sighed and slid down further in her seat. She would like to say that this was an uncommon occurrence, but it really wasn't. She was pretty sure that at some point they'd have to bribe the driver to allow them to come on anymore. That day might even be today.

But even the impending threat of having to walk to school on rainy days couldn't keep the smile off Emily's face, and it was sooner rather than later that somebody noticed.

"Bonkers, Ems," Panda bounced. "You've got like a super duper smile going on there." She stopped and studied Emily carefully, her honest blue eyes appraising her. "Wowzer! Did you and Naomi finally surf 'n' turf?"

The scuffling sounds from behind them stopped and Cook's head appeared upside down before them as he hung off the luggage rack. "What about lesbians having sex?"

Emily lifted her notebook and smacked him across the head with it. "There was no sex."

"But you kissed her, right?" Effy asked with a smirk. Emily didn't even have to say anything; her blush confirmed it. "Nice shirt by the way."

Emily looked down and immediately smiled sheepishly. Her subconscious had definitely had a hand in the clothes she'd grabbed this morning: the usual jeans, jacket, and Converse, with a green t-shirt that proclaimed several different types of kissing in black block letters ("kiss, smooch, French, makeout, snog").

Cook howled and pulled himself all the way over the back of the seat so he could land across Effy and Emily's laps. He ruffled her hair as he laughed. "Good one, Emilio. Nicely done."

"Cook!" Emily and Effy worked together to push him into the aisle, where he immediately bounced back to his feet. His smile did not dim at all.

Freddie plopped himself back into his seat, looking a little forlorn now that his muffin had disappeared into his stomach, and cocked his head at her. "So, on a scale from one to ten, how good of a kisser is Naomi?"

"Ugh," Katie groaned. "Can we not talk about my sister and Naomi making out?"

"Sorry, babes, but we must absolutely talk about lesbians making out," Cook said seriously.

Emily pulled her feet up and tried to hide behind her politics notebook. "I don't kiss and tell," she mumbled.

"Since when?"

She peeked over the top of her notebook to see six sets of disbelieving eyes looking at her. She scowled at them and addressed Cook, who was the one who had posed the question. " Since now," she said firmly. "Naomi is…special. And I'm not going to ruin that by bragging to you lot about it."

"Okay, all right," Cook leaned back in his seat and held his hands up in surrender. "Don't get your knickers in a twist. Blondie'll do that for you, right?"

The rest of them laughed as she blushed again, and she had to spend the entire rest of the bus ride being teased mercilessly. It didn't even slow them down an iota when the bus driver told them to keep it down or they'd be walking the rest of the way, nor when Thomas got on. If anything it got worse.

It didn't matter, though. She'd take the teasing because that meant there was a reason to be teased in the first place.

* * *

><p>It wasn't so much that she walked very quickly down the hallway as it was that she abandoned the rest of the group at Effy's locker and attempted to break the world record for shortest amount of time it takes to travel from one spot to another. She was pretty sure she broke it too, but she was far too busy smiling like a fucking fool at Naomi to bother to call the Guinness Book of World Records people. Someone else could have the trophy. She already had her prize.<p>

Naomi was leaning against her locker, playing with her phone and smiling a little to herself, looking just as effortlessly gorgeous as always. She was just in a blue and white striped hoodie and jeans. Not even anything special. Emily was beginning to suspect that there wasn't a moment where Naomi didn't look beautiful, which was slightly unfair but just something she'd have suffer with.

As she got closer Emily noticed Naomi's feet bouncing up and down. They were almost a blur of white tapping against the linoleum floor. Was it wrong that she found Naomi's nervousness adorable too?

After an eternity of trying to get across the damn hall Emily finally stood in front of Naomi. She bumped her foot against Naomi's shoe playfully. "Winning the race?" she teased.

Naomi looked up and smiled. The rest of the lights in the room dimmed in comparison. "Morning, Em," she greeted quietly. She stopped tapping her feet and stood up and for about half a minute there was a bit where neither of them moved: Naomi didn't hold out her arm and Emily didn't try to take it. It was an awkward dance they didn't experience last night and it made a pit form in Emily's stomach. Was this where the awkwardness started? Had they lost their easy intimacy with each other, which had been one of the constants in Emily's life for a while now?

"Don't I –" Naomi stopped herself and bit her lip, and the memory of biting on that bottom lip herself made Emily flush with heat. "Never mind," Naomi finished. "It's stupid."

Emily frowned and grabbed at Naomi's hand, squeezing it lightly and stepping closer because, awkwardness or not, she wasn't going to not comfort her. "No, what is it?"

"I was going to say," Naomi ducked her head and said the last part quickly so it all formed one word, "don'tIgetakiss?"

Oh god, with the way she was tugging lightly at Emily's hand and the blush that spread to the tips of her ears, she was _actually _the most adorable human being in existence. The knot in Emily's stomach melted and turned into butterflies instead. They performed a choreographed dance to the thundering beat of Emily's racing heart. At least being in love with Naomi was good for her cardio.

"You want a good morning kiss?" Emily clarified.

"Told you it was stupid," Naomi mumbled, ducking her head further down, almost like she was trying to hide within herself.

Emily let go of Naomi's hand and cupped her chin. She tilted Naomi's face up so she couldn't hide from her and she was smiling as she stood on her tiptoes and pulled Naomi into a kiss. It was warm, and sweet, and Naomi tasted like vanilla. She pulled back a little when it became difficult to breathe and Naomi's smile could have powered the entire city for a week.

"Good morning," Naomi whispered against her lips before kissing her again.

Emily leaned up and wrapped her hand around the back of Naomi's neck. She may have extended the kiss a little longer than was socially acceptable, but in her defense it was really hard to stop kissing Naomi Campbell once you started.

"Wow, so watching your sister make out with her girlfriend is just as gross as I imagined it to be. Good to know."

Emily sighed as she reluctantly abandoned Naomi's lips. Naomi grumbled when she pulled away and it made Emily smile again immediately. "You don't have to watch," she told her sister.

Katie shrugged. "You're in the middle of the fucking hallway. Plus, I've got to talk to Campbell."

The rest of the group had gathered around them now, and it felt more oppressive than usual. Emily fidgeted a little and stepped closer to Naomi, who put her hand around Emily's waist and slipped two fingers into one of her belt loops and held on tightly. Emily glared fiercely at all of them, pointedly communicating with her eyes that they were making Naomi nervous and they'd better stop now.

"Quit glaring daggers, Ems," Katie scoffed. "I was just gonna say, you know, that if she hurts you I'll rip her hair out. You can think up a more threatening sisterly chat for yourself, right Campbell?"

Emily's heart melted when Naomi nodded and smiled a little at Katie. "I'm sure I can think of something suitably terrifying."

"Then my work here is done." Katie grabbed Cook's arm and started dragging him in the other direction. "C'mon babes, we've got places to be."

Cook winked at them over Katie's shoulder and Emily rolled her eyes. The rest of the group started to split into different directions, except for Effy. She pointed at Emily and narrowed her eyes, mostly serious when she said, "Same goes for you, Emily. Don't hurt our girl over here."

Emily would have been offended that her best friend was taking Naomi's side, but the touched look on Naomi's face made it worth the gesture. "Duly noted," she said instead. Effy nodded to her and let Freddie grab her bag for her as they ambled off after Cook and Katie.

Naomi ducked her head and buried her face into the shoulder of Emily's jacket. "Well that was interesting," she mumbled into the fabric. Emily smiled and ruffled Naomi's hair. Her hand was immediately batted away.

"We have good friends," Emily said when Naomi's face reappeared from her hiding spot on Emily's shoulder.

Naomi worried at her bottom lip for a second but eventually she nodded and ducked down to kiss Emily again. Emily let her, completely forgetting about where they were until they were interrupted again.

"Didn't we already have a chat about this, Blonde-For-Brains?"

Emily sighed as she pulled away from Naomi. "The world can't let us snog in peace for five minutes?" she whined before she placed one last quick kiss on Naomi's bottom lip and extracted herself from her arms entirely. "Good morning, Mandy."

Mandy was glaring thunderously at them like her very gaze could magically bring the building down around them. She had a slightly hurt expression too, but Emily was past feeling bad for this girl, especially since she took the concept of 'not taking a hint' in such new and interesting directions and had now moved directly into 'pest' territory. That immediately made her think of whether or not someone made 'Mandy-Away' pest removal. She bit her lip to hide her smile.

"You know the whole school is going to think you're a lesbian now, right?" Mandy shot at Naomi.

Emily stiffened a little. She wasn't entirely sure how Naomi was going to react to the new label that would be slapped on her. She thought that she would be okay with it, but…she guessed now was the time when she'd know for sure.

"Oh, shit," Naomi cursed. Emily looked over quickly, her heart falling to her feet, and her face scrunched up when she saw Naomi patting at her pockets and sticking her hands into the pouch of her hoodie, clearing trying to locate something. "I can't find it."

Mandy frowned. "Can't find what?" she asked when Naomi spent another couple of seconds searching.

"The fuck I give about other people's opinions. I can't find it anywhere."

Emily's laugh was full of relief. She was still giggling when Mandy leveled one last glare at them and mumbled about stupid blonde girls before stalking off.

"That was brilliant," she said.

Naomi grinned smugly, looking inordinately proud of herself. "I have my moments," she said with a shrug.

Emily bounced up onto the balls of her feet and kissed Naomi's cheek. "Yeah, you do," she agreed.

About a million of them daily.

* * *

><p>The sky cleared up halfway through the day and it meant that everyone started to get itchy to get back outside. The sky was a clear blue, without any of the earlier clouds in sight, and the sun beamed hot through the windows. The air outside was crisp with the autumn chill but all in all it wasn't a bad day out.<p>

Emily thought that going over to Naomi's house after school would provide them with a quiet and semi-private place to talk. Or at least excessively make out.

One of the two was bound to happen.

What she wasn't prepared for was the blast of noise that erupted as soon as she opened the door to Naomi's house.

"Close the door!"

She tugged Naomi inside and did as she was told, slamming the door shut just as a giant, flying ball of gold and brown fur barreled into the hallway and skidded in an effort to stop before it hit the wall. It didn't work. Emily winced as Bear got back to his feet and shook. He got splatters of mud over both of them. Naomi yelped and dropped her bag to try and block the onslaught with her hands. Emily just stood there and took it, her face scrunched up in disgust.

"Bear, sit!" Naomi snapped.

Even angry and covered in mud, authoritative Naomi was pretty damn hot. Emily blushed a little when Gina came dashing into the front hall and tried to erase those thoughts from her mind. It only worked a little bit.

"Well, he's an exceptionally trained service dog," Gina said. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at Bear, who was now sitting innocently on the floor with his head cocked to the side like he didn't have mud all over his paws and snout. It was like the evidence of his misbehavior didn't exist to him. "But he's also the most mischievous little fucker I've ever met in my life. And I raised Naomi."

Emily giggled and Naomi hid her face in her hands when Gina added, "I'll have to tell you those stories sometime, Emily."

"No you won't!" Naomi said. She reached down and around until her hand found Bear's collar. "Judging by the smell and the feel, Bear needs a bath, so we're just going to go do that. Have fun down here by yourself, Mum." She tugged the dog upstairs (he whined when he heard the word 'bath' and followed with his tail between his legs) and Emily followed behind them. She giggled again when Gina winked at her.

They went up the stairs and into Naomi's room, stopping only to throw their bags to the floor and take off their jackets before dragging Bear directly into Naomi's bathroom.

"Close the door," Naomi ordered, sounding eerily like Gina for a moment. Emily did so as Naomi rolled up her sleeves and started to fill the tub with water. "So what's the damage?" she asked as she stuck her hand under the stream and adjusted the temperature a bit. Bear watched her do this with a hanging head and a look of impending doom.

"Mud," Emily said. She scratched the top of Bear's head and he sidled closer to her like he thought she was going to save him.

Naomi seemed to judge the water to be okay because she nodded her head and spun around on her knees to wag her finger at her dog. "Bad boy," she said.

He whined again and looked up at Emily with big, betrayed eyes when she grabbed his collar and started to lead him to the bath. _But I love you, _he seemed to say. _And I love dirt. Can't I love you both? _He didn't fight, though, when Naomi took over for her and ordered him into the bath. He just stood there under the gentle spray from the showerhead Naomi had turned on, looking for all the world like they were committing the worst atrocity in the universe by forcing him to take a warm bath.

Emily sat on top of the toilet and simply watched Naomi as she rinsed him down, getting most of the mud off in the process, before she reached for a bottle of shampoo. She ran her fingers along the top (Emily could just make out the bumps of Braille on them) and discarded a few before she squirted a blob from one of the bottles into her hand and started to lather him up. Emily giggled when Bear pushed his nose against Naomi's cheek and got suds on her face.

Naomi flicked a handful of suds in her direction. Some of them got on her jeans. "Come and make yourself useful!" she ordered as she flicked more suds.

Emily shook her head. She bit her lip to keep more giggles in check. "You're doing fine over there by yourself," she said. She yelped as Naomi decided this deserved another handful of suds thrown at her, but she refused to sink to childish levels of payback.

Bear sat with his ears back and allowed Naomi to use the showerhead to rinse the suds off his body. It was kind of fascinating to watch the dirty water flow down the drain and be replaced with clear water and suds as he got all clean again. She was so fascinated with this, actually, that she didn't notice Naomi's intention until a handful of water splashed onto her shirt. She yelped and almost fell off the toilet.

"Naomi!"

Naomi was laughing hysterically, leaning against the tile next to the bath in an effort to hold herself up. Her cheeks were red with laughing and no matter how annoyed with her she was, Emily could still admit it was a breathtaking sight.

"Please tell me I got you," Naomi gasped.

"You're totally going to fucking get it, Campbell!" She darted off the toilet and cupped a handful of water from the bath and dumped it over Naomi's head. It was Naomi's turn to yelp as the water plastered her hair to her face and got down her shirt.

"Hey!"

"Payback's a bitch!" Emily laughed.

Bear was getting excited over the water fight and he started to jump around. He leapt out of the bath and when Naomi and Emily both went to grab him at the same time they managed to get wrapped up in each other instead. Emily slipped on some water and they both went flying into the tub. She kept herself between Naomi and the wall, cradling Naomi's head against her shoulder just in case, and they landed in the water with a resounding splash.

"Shit!" the water was warm but it immediately drenched them to the bone. The showerhead still raining down on them didn't help. Naomi was shaking in her arms and Emily quickly craned her head around to make sure she wasn't hurt.

Naomi was laughing.

Emily started to giggle along with her until they were both in an uproar, too busy finding the whole thing funny to try and get themselves out of the tub.

"You think this is funny?" Emily poked Naomi in the side. Naomi squirmed away and Emily grinned evilly. "Oh-ho. Ticklish?"

"Don't you fucking…no!" Naomi tried to squirm away but the tub wasn't big enough for that and Emily had a hold on her anyway. "Just – ah! S-st-stop!" Naomi's entire face turned red and she was twisting under Emily's merciless attack.

Emily cackled. "Say mercy!"

"Never!"

Naomi tried to move away and Emily moved with her. Some water spilled over the edge of the tub and Bear was barking in excitement, but it didn't much matter at the moment. All that mattered was Naomi's body being so close and their laughter filling the small, confined space. Finally Naomi's back hit the edge of the tub and she couldn't go any further. Emily moved in for the kill, but a tantalizing strip of skin along Naomi's neck distracted her. Under the pretense of more tickling, Emily couldn't help ducking her head down and kissing her neck softly.

The squirming body underneath her stopped moving immediately.

She panicked for a second, sure that something was wrong, before she realized that her hands had slipped beneath Naomi's shirt and started to tickle actual warm flesh. Her palms were pressed flat against the skin of Naomi's ribs. She could feel the bones and muscle underneath her skin, could feel each time that Naomi's lungs expanded. She could feel the beat of Naomi's heart. It was racing.

"Sorry," she whispered. She went to pull her hands away but Naomi grabbed her wrists to stop her. "I didn't even realize. We'll go slow and – "

"Emily!"

Emily stopped breathing. "Yeah?"

"Do that again."

Naomi let go of her wrists and Emily pulled her closer, until their bodies were meshed together. Their wet clothes clung to them.

She brushed her lips lightly against the side of Naomi's neck, reminding herself to go slow, that Naomi had never had anyone kiss her like this before. Naomi let out a shaky breath and moved her head to the side to open up more skin for exploration. Emily kept her hands where they were and took her time enjoying the feel of smooth skin. She started to place slightly more open-mouthed kissing along the column of her throat. Naomi jumped and hissed in surprise when she ran her tongue along the smooth skin just behind her ear, but she pulled Emily closer. The water sloshed around them and fell like warm rain from the showerhead. It felt like being wrapped in their own cocoon; a space just for them and no one else.

Emily laughed quietly. "Feel good?" she teased. She drew small circles around Naomi's bellybutton with her thumb and Naomi's hands shot down to grab her wrists again. Okay, so, line drawn. The hands could stay where they were as long as they didn't move.

"Very good," Naomi said. She was breathless and her heart was thrumming like a hummingbird's. Emily could feel it. Then she tugged so that Emily's hands were sliding up her ribcage and Emily's heart sped up to match.

Jesus Christ, this wasn't happening. This was an emotional overload. They stopped just at the bottom of her bra and Emily ran her thumb along the damp fabric. Her lips moved with a purpose along Naomi's jaw. "Are you sure?"

"Not entirely," Naomi gasped.

Emily moved her hands back down, with Naomi's still wrapped around her wrists, until she hit the fabric of Naomi's jeans again. She rested her fingers against Naomi's hips and kissed the corner of her mouth. "Don't think you have to move fast because of me," she said. She kissed the tip of Naomi's nose. "We'll go at exactly the speed you want."

Naomi nodded and every muscle in her body seemed to relax entirely. She let go of Emily's wrists to reach her hands behind Emily's neck and pull her in for a fierce kiss. Emily had to put one hand against the tile of the tub to brace herself from the intensity of it. The whole thing was a little awkward, actually. It couldn't be very comfortable for Naomi to be lying lengthwise in the water the way she was and the tap was digging into the side of Emily's hip. This was not the most well-thought-out place she could have decided to snog Naomi, but it felt too good to stop now. She moaned into the kiss when Naomi's tongue met hers and she bit on Naomi's lip before pulling back for a moment to take a breath and then diving back in to attack from a different angle. Naomi's hands left her neck and twisted up the back of her shirt instead. One snuck underneath Emily's soaked shirt to trace the line of her spine. Emily shuddered and Naomi smiled into the kiss.

They shifted, the water moving with them. Emily's free hand wrapped underneath Naomi's knee and pulled a little. Naomi used that leg to pull Emily close by the backs of her thighs and Emily broke away with a gasp as they both slipped farther into the water.

"This is getting treacherous," she said with a quiet, breathless giggle.

"Don't stop," Naomi countered.

Emily shook her head. "Wasn't planning on it."

She dove back in to kiss Naomi again. The whole thing felt so natural that it felt a little unreal. It felt so right to be kissing Naomi, to listen to the little sound she made when Emily trailed her fingers in circles along her hipbones. It felt so natural to whimper a little when Naomi pulled away, and to chase her lips for another kiss. It seemed that they couldn't stop, and that neither of them wanted to stop, too engrossed in discovering the joy of each other to pay attention to the outside world.

Until a toilet flushed in another part of the house and the gentle warm rain that the showerhead had been providing went immediately cold.

Emily shrieked and Naomi shot away from her like she'd been burned. They both scrambled out of the tub and to the far wall, away from the freezing cold water that had been bombarding them. Naomi slumped against the wall and held a hand to her chest. She was shivering a little but she was also smiling. Her other hand was touching her lips. Emily was shivering too, but she also knew the feeling of hardly being able to believe that something had happened. Of having to physically check.

She heard a quiet woof and rolled her head against the wall to look to her left. Bear was studying them curiously. His eyes seemed to be asking why they were flushed and wet.

Emily burst into laughter.

* * *

><p>"I think you should run for school president."<p>

The statement seemed to surprise Naomi, as she lifted her head off the bed and turned towards Emily with an expression that implied that she thought Emily had lost some of her marbles. "What?"

Emily marked the page in her history book with a finger and repeated herself. "I think you should run for school president."

"And you think this, why?"

"I think you'd be good at it."

They'd forgone snogging in favor of getting work done, since they couldn't very well not turn in homework for two days. Emily was pretty sure 'we were making out' would not be an acceptable excuse, either. But reading about the politics of the 13th century had gotten her thinking about the upcoming student election. Usually it was just a wash, as none of the popular kids really bothered and most of the runners were kind of weird, but lately Effy had been talking about getting more actual power of running the school into the student's hands and this might just be a way to do it. Besides, she knew that a student government position would look good on Naomi's applications for universities, so she said just that.

Naomi snorted. "Ems, those things are just a popularity contest. It's a complete crock."

Emily sat up straighter as she got more comfortable with her topic. She was sitting at Naomi's desk wearing borrowed clothes (again) while Naomi lounged on her messily unmade bed. Naomi's clothes were a little big on her, but they smelled just like her and it felt like being wrapped up in Naomi's arms, so she would stay in them for as long as possible. "You're popular."

"I am not," Naomi looked offended by the mere suggestion that she could be liked by people. It made Emily smile.

"Are too," she countered childishly. Naomi stuck her tongue out at her and she smiled wider. "You hang out with our lot, so you're pretty popular because of that, but people also like you, too. You get looked at in the halls."

"People do tend to stare at the blind."

"It's not cause of that, twat," Emily rolled her eyes. "People just look at you for you as well. You're gorgeous."

"You're biased."

Emily rolled her eyes again. "You're always talking about this type of stuff," she went on. "Politics and whatnot. Remember, just last week you mentioned holding department nights for groups of kids to stay after school who need more help. That's a brilliant idea!"

Naomi was blushing again and she tried to hide her face behind her book. "So what?"

"So if you were student president, you could put that idea into action."

She seemed to be actually giving it some thought when a knock on the door startled both of them. Gina poked her head inside. "Dinner in ten," she said. "Are you staying for it, Emily?" Emily nodded and she grinned at both of them before closing the door behind her.

Emily put aside her book entirely and hopped off the chair. "Come on," she said. "We should go help your mom set the table."

"I don't wanna," Naomi whined. She had buried her head in her arms, though, so it came out more like "Idunanna".

Emily grabbed the wrist that she could see and tugged. Naomi made herself dead weight against the pull, but Emily could see the little smile tugging up the corners of her mouth. She sighed.

"Don't be difficult," she warned.

"You're being difficult about the president thing," Naomi countered, slightly less muffled as she turned her head to the side (probably so that she could breathe). "Which I never said I'd do, by the way."

"I'll get you to," Emily said smugly. "I'm more persuasive than you are."

"Oh really?"

"Really. Are you not aware that I am ridiculously cute and charming?"

"Egotistical maniac. It's a height thing, isn't it?"

Ten seconds later Naomi had an armful of offended girlfriend as Emily pounced on her. She rolled over and trapped Emily in her embrace to stop another tickle attack, but Emily didn't fight the arms around her very much, choosing to relax into the hug instead. She snaked her arms around Naomi and buried her hands in the soft mattress underneath them. She buried her face in the crook of Naomi's neck and breathed in contentedly.

"What is this?" Naomi asked softly. She brought a hand up to the back of Emily's neck and burrowed her hand underneath Emily's hair to trace the bump of her spine. "It feels different, but I can't figure out how."

"It's my tattoo," Emily answered.

Naomi's hand stilled for a moment before it resumed tracing the words across Emily's skin. "I didn't know you had a tattoo."

"I got it just after everything with my parents started to go downhill," Emily explained. She could picture it as Naomi traced it: black script in flowing Old English font. "It was kind of a cathartic way for me to always remind myself that the world doesn't own me."

"What does it say?"

"_I celebrate myself_," Emily quoted. "It's from a poem by –"

"Walt Whitman," Naomi finished. Emily could hear the smile in her voice. "The Song of Myself, right? _I celebrate myself, and sing myself; and what I assume you shall assume; for every atom belonging to me as good as belongs to you._"

Emily grinned as she kissed Naomi's shoulder through her t-shirt. "Smart and gorgeous. I got myself quite a catch." Naomi's arms tightened around her in reply and Emily took a moment to just enjoy the warmth of Naomi's body against hers. All the kissing was nice, but just cuddling with her was pretty heavenly too. "But I think another part of that poem describes you pretty well, too. _Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself._" She waited for Naomi to finish the line. She was sure she knew the words.

"_I am large, I contain multitudes._" Naomi murmured.

"Exactly," Emily nuzzled the skin of Naomi's neck. "You're more than just a blind girl, Naomi. You're smart, and funny, and kind. You contain multitudes." She raised herself up on her elbows so that she was hovering above Naomi. "And that's why I think you should be class president."

Naomi laughed shortly. "You really are persuasive, aren't you?" she quipped, but her voice shook a little and betrayed just how much Emily's words had reached her.

"I learned it from Effy," she said, allowing the topic change.

Naomi laughed again and tilted her face up, searching for a kiss. Emily didn't give her one and Naomi sighed. "If I agree to submit a form, will you kiss me?" she asked with a pout.

Emily smiled. "That could be arranged."

"Fine. I'll fill one out when they're available. Happy?"

"Ecstatic."

Emily closed her eyes and leaned down into Naomi's body, kissing her soundly. It occurred to her, beyond the feeling of Naomi's lips against hers, that she never experienced the complete absence of light. Even now with her eyes closed against the world she could still make out shadows against her eyelids and the movement of the sun as it danced across her face. She could always see light in some form or another. Naomi couldn't, and as hard as she tried Emily could barely bring herself to imagine a world of darkness.

She pulled back a little and Naomi sighed. "You're dangerous, Emily Fitch," Naomi said in a voice just above a whisper. "You make me forget about the things I can't do."

"That's because I think you can do anything," Emily said.

She reached behind them and tugged at the messy duvet until it was up and over their heads. It fell to either side and was a little stuffy and claustrophobic, but effectively put them both in a bubble again. Most importantly, it blocked out the sun. She lived in the same world as Naomi, at least for a moment.

Emily closed her eyes, smiled into complete darkness, and kissed Naomi again.

* * *

><p>She was taking notes in science class the next day when she felt a large furry head bump into her arm.<p>

Science was the only class where she and Naomi were separated, since the class was split up into pairs of students based on their academic standing, with one above-average and one below-average student to a pair. Emily and Naomi were both good at science and so they'd both been paired with students who would need their help: Emily with Thomas and Naomi with Panda. She was also sure that they were split up on purpose, but she couldn't exactly complain to the teacher about that.

Naomi had brought Bear to school because she had wanted to, and because she tried to do it at least once every few weeks just to keep the teachers on their toes. They officially had to let the dog into the class and even though some of them (like their science teacher) glared the entire time, they did it.

It also wasn't unusual for Bear to come over and stay with Emily all class. Bear loved Emily and the feeling was mutual, so usually he would cuddle with Emily during class because, unlike Naomi, Emily would actually pet him as she took notes. Therefore when he wandered across their class and put his head on her knee, she just absently reached down and started to stroke his ears.

He blissfully closed his eyes with the attention and Emily went back to taking notes. It wasn't until her hand hit something against his collar that wasn't supposed to be there that she looked down.

A piece of paper was stuck carefully underneath his collar.

Emily pulled it out and unrolled it with a small frown. Her heart started to thump faster when she saw semi-familiar handwriting as it uncurled in her hand. The writing was a little sloppy as it wavered across the page, but the letters themselves were sharp and precise, like the writer had spent a lot of effort learning exactly how they were supposed to feel when she wrote them. A bubble of happiness formed in Emily's stomach as her eyes scanned the words scrawled across in pen.

"_Emily Fitch: Will you go out on a date with me? Poke left for yes and right no." _

There were two boxes underneath the words. Emily bit her cheek to contain her grin as her bubble of happiness exploded into butterflies. Naomi had used Bear to send her a note across class, and it was the cutest, most ingenious thing she could think of. She took her pencil and poked three holes in the 'yes' box just to make sure, then stuck the note back in Bear's collar and sent him back across the room with one final scratch of his ears for luck.

He cheerfully strolled back over to Naomi, seemingly unaware that the teacher was glaring at him, and sat at his mistress's feet. His tail thumped rhythmically against the floor. He knew he'd done a good job.

"Miss Campbell," their teacher scolded. "Please try to keep your animal contained."

"Sorry, sir," Naomi responded, the picture of innocence, "didn't even know he left."

The class snickered and the teacher turned back to the whiteboard with a scowl. Emily watched carefully as Naomi felt around until she found the note and unrolled it. Panda squealed and bounced up and down in her chair (earning a glare and a reprimand from the teacher) while Naomi just bit her lip but couldn't quite contain the grin Emily saw spread across her face.

Emily leaned back in her chair and abandoned her notes, choosing instead to start doodling little hearts in the corner of her notebook. How could she concentrate on the periodic table now?

She had a date with Naomi Campbell.

* * *

><p><strong>An: Originally there was going to be a lot more ~issues and ~serious business stuff in this chapter but then I thought You know what? They deserve a reward. And when I asked whyyesitscar and crazyconversations if they thought you guys would mind a fluffy, happy chapter that is mostly filler and some serious stuff, they said "Um, have you met fandom?" So I hope you enjoyed your happy chapter. Leave a review and tell me what you thought! If it sucked, if you loved it, what your favorite part was. Reviews from you guys make my day. **

**As always, much love. ~FS**


	14. Chapter Twelve: Naomi

**A/n: For all of you who follow me on Tumblr, you know that this chapter is late. I meant to post it on Wednesday, then promised I'd post it on Thursday, but a series of unfortunate events including being called into work and a family member going to the hospital delayed it. Here it is today, now re-named Fuck-I-Didn't-Get-To-Post-This-Until Friday. **

**For those of you who don't follow me on Tumblr, I am so sorry about the delay for this chapter but here is good news: now that it's summer time, I am going to start WTHS Wednesday, where, barring physical injury, family emergencies, or too many hours at work, I will post a new chapter every Wednesday. **

**You are all lovely people who are very patient with me. Because of this, I put in something extra smutty just for you all. Also this is completely un-beta'd, as Liz wouldn't have time to do it before I leave for work and I'm not going to frantically make her. Any mistakes you see are mine and will be fixed later, I just wanted to get the chapter out to you as quickly as possible. **

**Disclaimer: Nope. **

* * *

><p>Her shoes made repetitive sounds against the wood floor of the foyer. <em>Thud, sweep, thud, sweep, thud<em>. It took twelve steps to pace the foyer lengthwise, counting when she had to turn around. She reached out her hand and touched the banister of the staircase every time she passed.

_Thud. Sweep. Thud. Sweep. Thud. _

Her heart raced at twice that. Two thuds of her heart for every one thud of her foot hitting the ground. _Thud __**thud**__. Sweep. Thud __**thud**__. Sweep. Thud __**thud **__sweep._

She could probably double those twelve steps for Bear, because he had four paws that tapped, and his claws made little clicking noises in between where the sweep of the sole of her shoe should be, and they echoed in her footsteps as he followed her every move. He was probably wondering why they were pacing back and forth over and over.

_Tap click tap click tap click tap click tap. _

So it was amazing, with this level of attention to detail that she was giving to the relatively simple task of walking back and forth across the foyer of her house, that she didn't hear her mother come in.

"Please, continue to wear a rut in the floor," Gina said. "I hear ruts are all the rage in France."

Naomi stopped abruptly and Bear hit the back of her legs. She scratched behind his ears absentmindedly to apologize. "They do enjoy rutting," she quipped.

Her mother came closer and brushed a bit of her hair out of her face. "Stop," she ordered, quiet but firm. "Emily would love it if you took her to a cruddy cinema with popcorn on the floor. What you have planned is miles better than that." She kissed Naomi's forehead. "Now breathe before you pass out."

Naomi breathed in deeply, held it for a few seconds, and then let it out in one long stream of air. The tension in her muscles flowed out with it. Gina rubbed her now-relaxed shoulders encouragingly, the way she used to when Naomi was a kid and still getting used to navigating with a cane. Naomi would work herself up to the point of frustrated temper tantrums and tears, and Gina would rub her shoulders and tell her to breathe. Breathe and try again.

"Relax," her mother soothed. "What's the worst that could happen? Emily doesn't like your plan and you try again on the next date."

Naomi could think of a few things worse than Emily not liking their first date, but they all involved the world ending in some fiery and horrific way.

"You're not breathing again, aren't you?"

Naomi obediently took a deep breath and wound up choking when it went down the wrong pipe. Her mother sighed and rubbed her back until she stopped coughing. Gina grabbed a piece of Naomi's hair and tucked it gently behind her ear.

"Tell me what you're afraid of," she prompted after Naomi caught her breath.

Naomi moved away from the affectionate touch and sat down on the bottom of the steps. She rubbed her fingers across the denim of her jeans nervously; she had been told by a reliable source that the outfit she wore to the Fitch Family dinner had had a profound effect on Emily, and so the jeans, button-up, and boots had made a reappearance. Bear came over and sat directly on her foot. His warm head inserted itself under her hand and he nudged her fingers with a little whine. She scratched the side of his nose, focusing more on the feeling of the soft fur beneath her fingertips and the gentle breathing of her dog than the thoughts swirling around in her head.

"I'm afraid of messing it up," she blurted out. The words tumbled over each other because she was trying to get them out so fast. "What if I'm not good enough? At kissing, or dating, or - or anything else?" She blushed violently. She wouldn't specify what _anything else _was. It was difficult enough to talk to her mother as it was.

"Oh, Naomi." She heard footsteps as her mum crossed over and then Bear was being nudged out of the way so that Gina could sit next to her on the step. Naomi leaned into the arm that Gina curled around her shoulder. "Did I ever tell you about when I first met your father?"

Naomi winced at the mention of the man who had abandoned them but shook her head. She was interested in seeing where her mother went with this.

"Well, we both know he ended up being kind of a massive prick, so we can both ignore that bit. Before that, though, he was the first serious boyfriend I'd ever had. I'd had flings before that, fuck-buddies and so on - "

Naomi had to pinch the side of her leg to stop herself from gagging at the sudden mental images that brought up.

" - but Mitchell...he was the first person I ever thought I might get married to. We were both new to serious relationships and we both had to learn. That's the thing about dating someone, sweetheart. You learn them. You don't know everything straight away - you _can't _know everything straight away. When you date someone you're giving yourself the opportunity to learn with them. Just go with what your gut tells you. The body sometimes knows more than the brain, if you know what I mean."

"So I just do what feels right?" Naomi asked softly.

Gina kissed the side of her head. "Exactly. If it's any consolation, from what you've told me, Emily is just as new to this serious relationship business as you are. You'll both be going at the same pace."

Naomi scuffed her shoe against the floor as the upwelling of doubt threatened to choke her. "What if I'm not good enough for her?"

"That is physically impossible." Gina said firmly, ignoring Naomi's scoff of disbelief. "It's - God, it's such a shame that you can't see the way that girl looks at you, Naomi. She looks at you like the sun rises and sets in your eyes." She brought her other arm up to hold Naomi close and rested her chin on top of her head. "She looks at you like she's the one who's blind to everything and everyone else. I think you could go around killing people like that Dexter bloke and Emily would just follow you and carefully cover your tracks."

Naomi sniffled back the tears threatening to spill. "You watch too much American telly," she said, but she was smiling. She hugged her mother. "Thank you."

"For what?" Gina asked quietly. She squeezed Naomi once, tightly, before letting her go and fixing her shirt, which had wrinkled from all their familial affection.

"For being you." Naomi shied away from her mother's attentions and smoothed the shirt down herself. She tried not to smile when she heard Gina sigh in annoyance. "I don't know. I think about everything that happened with Emily and her mum and I guess...just accept the thanks, all right?"

It had been surprisingly easy to tell her mother that she was going on a date with Emily. It had basically consisted of Naomi running into her mother's room in a panic and asking if she knew anyplace special that she could take Emily on a date. After Gina had finished shouting "I knew it!" and hugging her so tightly that she honestly had trouble breathing, they sat down to plan the date that would hopefully not end up in disaster.

Horrible, relationship-ruining, heartbreaking disaster.

"Well then consider the thanks accepted," Gina said. She reached out to smooth an errant piece of hair back from Naomi's forehead and Naomi ducked away again. "Hold still." With the hair duly fixed, Naomi walked over to sit by the door and wait instead. Gina thankfully didn't follow her. "And you never have to thank me for something that like. You're happy and healthy. That's all I've ever wanted for you. That's all any mother should ever want for their child."

It felt like someone reached into her chest and squeezed her heart with both hands. Naomi blinked back her tears. She was _not _going to cry before her date even started. That was just ridiculous. Ridiculous and so, _so _embarrassing.

"You're not going to hug me again, are you?" she asked instead.

"As much as I'd love to extend this touching mother-daughter bonding moment, I think Emily just pulled up outside."

Naomi almost tripped over herself she stood up so fast. Bear stood up with her automatically. He didn't get excited, though, until they could both hear the rumble of Emily's moped engine. He immediately darted away from Naomi's side and started whining near the door.

"_I'm _supposed to be your favorite person. You remember that, right?" she reached over and tapped the top of his head. He sneezed and nudged her hand as if to say, 'Okay, whatever. Where's Emily?' She scowled at her mother. "What are you laughing about now?"

"Like dog, like owner," her mum said through her chuckles.

Naomi crossed her arms. "I find that offensive. I don't have a tail to wag and I don't slobber all over her when she walks inside."

That sentence did not help with the laughter situation at all. Before she could defend herself against her mum's obviously misplaced laughter, the doorbell rang and Naomi panicked. She jumped about a foot into the air out of sheer nerves. Somewhere behind her, her mother was trying to muffle her laughter. Naomi tried to be offended that her mother thought that this was funny but she knew she was being a bit ridiculous. She had to reach for the handle twice before she was successful in the relatively simple task of opening her own goddamn front door. When it finally swung inward it brought with it a burst of muggy air and the sense of peace that always seemed to flow through her whenever Emily was nearby.

"Hi," said her favorite voice in the world, and just like that her nerves were gone.

In fact, she was embarrassed at herself for even having nerves. This was _Emily_. Emily would never call her stupid, or think she was lame, or any of the other million and a half things that had run through Naomi's head the whole time she'd been getting ready.

She held out her arms and Emily threw herself into them. Naomi wrapped her up and squeezed; she pressed a kiss against Emily's temple and said a breathy little, "Hi" as she pulled away.

Somewhere behind them Gina squealed.

"You two are adorable," she said. Naomi tried not to sigh again. Her mum sounded about two seconds away from clapping her hands and jumping up and down.

"Hi Gina," Emily said.

Naomi could hear the shyness in Emily's voice. It wasn't a big leap to assume she was blushing. Naomi tightened the arm she still had wrapped around Emily's shoulders and pressed a quick kiss to her flushed cheek.

Her mother squealed again. It's like she practiced at being embarrassing. "Can I just - "

"No, Mum, you can't take a picture," Naomi said quickly. "Ems, you ready to go?"

"Ready when you are."

Gina huffed. "I can't believe you're depriving me of pictures again."

Emily giggled and it made Naomi laugh. She pinched Emily in the side and had her hand swatted away.

"One picture for your mum?" Emily suggested.

"No. You can't trust her with these things, Ems. You give her one picture and before you know it you're standing in the foyer after two hours while she changes the battery in her camera for the third time."

"I do that _one time _your first year of school..."

Emily was completely belly-laughing at this point and Naomi would gladly sacrifice an organ to be able to hear that for the rest of her life. Maybe several organs. Possibly a limb or two.

"Not even just - "

"No, mum. I mean it. We see Emily all the time."

"But it's your first date!"

Naomi groaned and dropped her chin down to her chest. "So _embarrassing_," she muttered.

Emily had recovered from her laughter at this point. She ducked down and pressed her lips very quickly against Naomi's. "We're posing for one picture," she said firmly.

Naomi had a hard time fighting that. She had a hard time remembering where she was at the moment. Emily had kissed her again. Life was good and full of rainbows and sunshine. Kittens were frolicking somewhere.

They wound up posing for three pictures, but only because her mother was completely technologically inept. Honestly the woman probably shouldn't be allowed to plug things in. Naomi was surprising that their house was still standing. When she started to say '_just one more' _Naomi put her foot down.

Gina sighed and grumbled but allowed them to escape. She pressed the backpack Naomi had packed into her hands and leaned in to whisper, "She looks stunning. Her hair is down. It's softly curled. Her dress falls to mid-thigh. It's sleeveless and black with white polkadots. I love you." She kissed the side of her head and propelled her forward with a gentle smack to her bum.

Naomi sighed in relief when the door closed behind them. "Can I apply for a new mother?" she whined.

"No." Emily gently took her hand and guided her towards the moped. Naomi followed, as obedient to that soft touch as the dog her mum had compared her to earlier. She hadn't been kidding when she'd had that random thought so many weeks ago. She would follow Emily Fitch anywhere.

Thankfully Emily was either unaware of this or chose not to take advantage of that fact. She took the backpack from Naomi's hands and put it on the back of the moped before she turned around and leaned up to cup Naomi's face in her hands.

"Now I want a proper hello," she purred.

Naomi was putty in her hands. She leaned down and kissed Emily the way she'd wanted to when she first opened the door. Softly, passionately, and thoroughly. Emily was the one to pull away first and she laughed when Naomi tried to chase her lips for another kiss. She nipped at Naomi's bottom lip in a way that made her weak at the knees, so she was thankful when Emily wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Can we say hello like that more often?" Naomi asked wistfully.

Emily giggled and Naomi felt the warmth of her hands when she fixed the collar of Naomi's shirt. "We should go," she said.

Naomi sighed. "Fine," she teased, "be that way. Make us actually go on a date."

"The horror," Emily teased back.

It was like second nature at this point when she swung her leg over the moped and wrapped her arms around Emily's waist. She settled into her spot and even smiled when Emily revved the engine. She'd stopped referring to it as a metal deathtrap in her head a while ago, although she still reserved the right to call it that again if it broke down on them right now.

The moped started up without issue and Emily thankfully didn't seem to know where they were going.

It was frustrating to not be able to drive Emily there herself. The whole point of planning out this date was so that she could have the opportunity to happily surprise her...girlfriend? That was another thing. They'd talked about how they felt about each other but they'd never slapped any labels on it. Naomi wanted Emily to be her girlfriend. Naomi wanted Emily to be her everything, for the rest of her life, but that was a scary thought and not one she wanted to linger on at the moment, so right now she was going to focus on 'girlfriend'. Either way, it was just another moment when Naomi was frustrated and angry with herself because she had to memorize directions and point Emily there.

Emily must have felt the way her body tensed up while thinking about that because at the next stop light she reached back and squeezed Naomi's knee. It was a silent show of support and Naomi kissed her shoulder to show her thanks for it. _God, this adorable girl. _

Naomi could feel the rays of the setting sun hitting their faces when Emily took the final left and pulled into what Naomi knew to be the parking lot. She braced herself for Emily's reaction.

"The beach?" Emily asked.

Her voice wasn't judgmental, just curious and happily surprised. Naomi allowed herself a moment of pride. She tightened her arms around Emily and it felt like her whole body smiled when Emily leaned backwards into her.

"You love the beach," Naomi explained. "And it's the end of October so not a lot of people will be here at night. You told me once that you know how to make a campfire. I made dinner and brought my iPod. I figured...I dunno, we could have a picnic and sit by the fire when it gets colder and dance...but now that seems stupid and lame and I just..."

Emily pulled Naomi's arms tighter around her and when she sighed it was a happy sound. "That sounds perfect," she said.

Naomi felt like her smile probably lit up the whole beach. "I'm glad you like it. I wanted to drive you here myself but, you know, kind of impossible."

Suddenly Emily sat up straight and grabbed Naomi's wrists. She peeled Naomi's arms off her body and tugged her forward. Naomi was not averse at all to this position since it meant that Emily's ass was flush against her crotch. Then Emily pulled their joined hands and placed Naomi's on the handles of the moped and Naomi got nervous.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Teaching you how to drive."

Naomi pulled her hands back. "There are like a million different reasons why that is a bad idea."

She felt it more than heard it when Emily sighed. "What could possibly happen?" she asked.

"I could run somebody over."

"The lot is empty. At the very most you might hit some sort of small animal."

"That would actually be worse. I'd just start crying endlessly."

Emily laughed and it shook the both of them. Naomi huffed.

"I'm not joking!" she insisted. "Our first date would end with me crying endlessly."

"Naomi Campbell, you are the world's biggest marshmallow," Emily teased.

"I am so offended by that."

"Put your hands on the handlebars, marshmallow."

Naomi whined but allowed Emily to place her hands back against the handlebars. She winced when she felt the key turn and the engine start up again.

"For the record," she said, "I still think this is a bad idea."

"Duly noted," Emily quipped. She placed her hands on top of Naomi's and that made Naomi feel better, because it felt kind of like Emily was driving and Naomi's hands just happened to be on the controls. Emily squeezed their joined hands and turned the right handlebar towards them. The engine beneath them revved and Emily laughed when Naomi jumped. "Now that's the accelerator. This," she moved their hands to the lever just on top of the accelerator, "is the front brake."

"There's more than one brake?" Naomi squeaked out.

Emily laughed again and moved their joined left hands to squeeze the lever just above the left handlebar. "That's the back break. You have to squeeze them both to stop."

"Okay. That was a cool lesson, let's get to dinner now."

"Twisting the accelerator back towards you propels you forward. Twisting it away decreases the speed," Emily continued with determination. "Now you try."

Naomi very gently twisted the accelerator. The inched forward and she felt a bit of a thrill.

Emily laughed in delight. "Now a little more!" she urged.

The moped shot forward when she added a little more pressure and it scared her so much that Naomi immediately pulled on the brakes, which brought them to an abrupt jolting stop. Emily was laughing.

"Maybe a little more gently," she said, and if it wasn't for the lighthearted teasing in that low voice that Naomi loved so much she would have given up this whole adventure right then and there.

It took a few more abrupt stops before Naomi was moving forward with something resembling smooth control. Emily decided that this would be a great time to teach Naomi how to turn.

"We're going slow, so the handlebars are going to do most of the work," she instructed over the steady hum of the engine, "but you have to lean into it a little. Turning is a whole body thing."

With the engine of the bike making her whole body hum, and the way she was pressed so tightly against Emily that every bit of their bodies were melded together so that she could reach the handlebars, Naomi was thinking of a couple of other activities that were whole body things. She wobbled a little bit on her first turn, and again on her second, but very slowly she got used to the way you had to lean just a little, put just a little more tilt on the handlebars, and then you were turning.

Eventually her nervousness morphed into delight. "I'm actually driving it!"

The stopped and Naomi jumped off the moped, but not without an affectionate pat on its handlebars. She ripped off her helmet and waited until she heard the thump of Emily putting hers down before she leapt forward and pulled Emily into a kiss that set her heart racing. She finally pulled back only when she was gasping for air.

"Thank you," she whispered against Emily's lips. "Thank you so much for that."

Emily nuzzled her nose against Naomi's cheek and Naomi could feel the way Emily's smiled pulled up the corners of her mouth. "Anytime." She laughed when Naomi's stomach rumbled. "But now I think it's time for that dinner you mentioned."

* * *

><p>Dinner was sandwiches Naomi had made herself. She'd made peanut butter and jelly for herself and honey and Marmite for Emily because that was, inexplicably, her favorite thing to eat. Naomi had tried it once. It was okay but not as excellent as Emily raved about. She'd said that and they'd agreed to disagree on the awesomeness of honey and Marmite for the sake of their friendship.<p>

The sandwiches were a bit messy but made with love, which Emily said meant it was the best dinner she'd had in a while. Emily also hadn't been lying about being able to make a fire. There was already a fire pit from someone who'd had a similar idea before and the flames were warm but not overbearing as they laid back on the blanket. Naomi was using the now-empty backpack as a pillow and Emily was using Naomi's chest as a pillow. The feeling of Emily's arms around her torso made Naomi feel far warmer than the fire could ever hope to make her feel.

They lay in silence for a little bit, just breathing together, before Naomi thought of something and it made her smile.

"This is just like during your party," she said.

Emily hummed and lifted her face towards Naomi. "It is," she agreed. Her voice sounded warm and content. "Except I hope we have better stories to tell this time."

"Well I could tell you about this girl I've been seeing," Naomi said with a smirk. "She's a bit on the ideal side."

"Is she now?"

"Better not tell her I'm out with you, though."

Emily squeaked indignantly and pinched Naomi's side. Naomi laughed and grabbed Emily's hand to stop further abuse. She lifted the hand up and kissed Emily's palm before she let it go again. Emily made a happy little noise in the back of her throat.

"I've got some better stories," Naomi said after another moment. "Is the sky clear?"

She felt when Emily shifted to look. "Yes, very."

"Find something for me? A bunch of stars that look like a diamond. It'll have a line curving away from it kind of like a snake and a cluster of three stars really close together."

It took Emily a little while, but Naomi felt her body stiffen and heard her adorable little squeak when she found it. "It's actually there!"

"That's Draco," Naomi said.

"I'm assuming not the Harry Potter character?"

Naomi laughed. "No, Draco the dragon. The myth says that when Zeus stole Europa from her home country, her brother Cadmus was sent to search for her. He founded a city called Thebes, but while his men were looking for water they were killed by a large water dragon. Cadmus fought the dragon and killed it, and because Draco was so faithful about guarding his caves Zeus put his constellation in a part of the sky that is visible year round, so he could continue guarding his treasures for all eternity."

"Katie was right," Emily said softly, "You do talk like you swallowed an encyclopedia."

Naomi brought her hand up and threaded it through Emily's hair. "I used to love reading about the Greeks when I was a kid. A have a whole book of their stories in Braille just sitting in my bookshelf. I loved the idea that heroes and monsters and gods were real, and could do all of these amazing things, and that we could still see them just by looking at the night sky. I memorized them." She smiled sadly. "My own version of stargazing."

Emily seemed to sense the sadness that had crept up from the back of Naomi's heart and she snuggled closer. "Tell me another," she demanded.

"Okay," Naomi laughed. "Find another diamond. It'll be smaller, and it'll have a line coming away from it to the right that splits off like two arms. See it? It should be somewhere in the north."

It took Emily longer to find this one. Naomi waited patiently until Emily finally exclaimed, "Got it!"

"That's Perseus," she said softly. "He's my favorite."

"Tell me his story?" Emily asked.

"He has lots of stories. He defeated Medusa and gave her head to Athena to wear on her shield. He saved the Princess Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus, and when he did they fell in love and he married her."

Emily started to trace patterns on Naomi's ribs with her finger and it made Naomi's stomach flutter. "Why is he your favorite?" she asked.

"Because he has a happy ending. He lived to an old age, and when he died Zeus gave him a place in the constellations next to his beloved Andromeda."

Emily lifted her head and kissed the point of Naomi's chin, and then her jaw, before finally moving to her mouth. Naomi moved into the kiss willingly. Emily pulled back for a moment and nudged their noses together. "I don't think you know how amazing you are."

"I'm not that great," Naomi protested.

Emily rolled to the side and threw her leg over Naomi's body so that she was straddling her. The new position almost had Naomi bucking her hips up to create more contact between the lower halves of their bodies. Emily leaned forward and pinned Naomi's arms above her head.

"You _are _that great," she insisted. "You're gorgeous - " she punctuated this by leaning down for a quick kiss, "and smart," another kiss, "and you have the loveliest soul."

"You can't see my soul," Naomi whispered.

"Yes I can," Emily said. "And it shines so brilliantly, Naoms."

Naomi wiggled her hands out of Emily's grip and pulled Emily back down into a kiss. It was an almost violent fusion of lips where Naomi tried to convey just how much Emily had just made her feel. Gratitude, thanks, even love - although she was much too much of a pussy to use those words just then - it all flowed into that kiss. Emily whimpered into her mouth when Naomi sucked on her bottom lip and before too long their tongues were together, massaging and playing together happily.

A coil of heat started in Naomi's lower stomach and spread. She threw her left hand out to the side to make sure the space was clear before she bucked up and flipped them over. Emily laughed breathlessly for a moment and then gasped when Naomi rolled over and covered Emily's body with her own. Emily reached her hands up around her shoulders and attempted to pull her even closer.

There were sounds in the world around them: the waves crashing against the beach, the crackle of the fire, the sounds of cars up on the main road, but they were all distant. Nothing mattered more than the feeling of Emily's warm body beneath her and the noises she was making as Naomi trailed a hand down her side. She got to the smooth expanse of skin at the end of Emily's dress and her hand stayed there a moment. Her fingers traced a pattern on Emily's thigh and Naomi relished in the feeling when Emily's hands tightened against her shirt.

A rock was digging into the side of her hip. She shifted a little to get away from it and lost her balance, breaking the kiss to catch herself as one leg slid in between Emily's. When Emily let out a loud groan underneath her, she was afraid she might've hurt her somehow.

"Sorry!" She went to move away but Emily's hands shooting to her hips locked her in place.

"No, it was a good sound," Emily assured her breathlessly. Their bodies were still pressed so closely together that Naomi could feel Emily's chest heaving and pressing against her as she struggled to catch her breath. It did not help to settle the hormones currently wreaking havoc throughout her entire body. "Your leg is just in, um, a good spot."

It wasn't until she said that, that Naomi realized her denim-covered thigh was pressing right against Emily's underwear. She was pretty sure her blush could have fried several dozen eggs but she didn't move. She was so damn curious. She'd never been in this position before. If just the pressure of her leg could do that, what would happen if...

Naomi rolled her hips and Emily let out the greatest sound that she had ever heard, halfway between a moan and whimper as her hands clutched at the collar of Naomi's shirt, no doubt rumpling it beyond repair.

"Fuck!" Emily cursed.

A smug smile pulled at Naomi's lips. She leaned down and placed an open-mouthed kiss directly on Emily's pulse-point before sucking gently. She could feel the beat of Emily's heart against her lips and how fast it was racing.

"Naoms," Emily groaned again. Instead of clutching at the collar of her shirt she pushed away. "We have to stop."

Naomi pulled back and shifted her leg away from between Emily's. "You want to stop?" she asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Emily choked out. "You were doing a lot of things right, actually. And you have no idea how much I want to keep going, but we're out in the open and I want your first time to be really special. I don't think you want to go as far as your body wants to right now."

It was like Naomi could practically see the cartoon devil and angel that appeared on her shoulders at that point. The cartoon angel was sitting primly and nodding along to Emily's words, obviously agreeing emphatically. The cartoon devil had separated into five different smaller devils, all of which were rowing around her head in a canoe singing: '_And you don't know why but you're dying to try you want to __**fuck the girl**_". None of them were helping and she mentally banished them.

She leaned her forehead against Emily. "As much as I don't want to quote this song...my mind is telling me no, but my body's telling me yes."

Emily giggled. "I know the feeling," she said. "I just don't want you to regret this in the morning."

"I would never regret anything I do with you," Naomi said firmly. She still got up onto her knees and rolled off Emily, though.

In the end it was a good decision, because not thirty seconds later a car pulled into the lot with music blasting. Naomi winced at the sound of loud rap coming from it.

"Did we just ruin our date?" she asked a little pathetically.

"This was the best date I've ever had," she said, her voice firm. "Not even the end of the world could ruin this for me."

Naomi packed their things back into her backpack while Emily carefully put out the fire. They ignored and shouts and catcalls from the rowdy guys in the car that had interrupted their perfect date and sped off towards Naomi's house.

* * *

><p>Emily walked Naomi up to her front door because she insisted that it was the 'date-ly thing to do'. Naomi could hear Bear whining on the inside and no doubt her mother was lurking somewhere nearby as well, but she kept herself in a little bubble for a moment, where it was just herself and Emily and the end of their date.<p>

"I wasn't lying before," Emily said quietly. There was the sound of bugs buzzing around the light above them and dogs barking in the distance but the only important sound in Naomi's world at the moment was Emily's voice. "This was perfect. Thank you for thinking of it."

"You weren't bored?" Naomi checked.

"Not for one moment."

Naomi smiled. "Is my mother spying on us from the window?"

"Um," Emily shuffled around a bit, which Naomi could only assume meant she was checking both front windows, "no, I don't think so."

"Good." Naomi cupped Emily's face in her hands and leaned down to give her a soft, warm kiss. She pulled away before it could become any deeper. They didn't need a repeat of earlier against Naomi's door, no matter how tempting that sounded. "Thank you for being the perfect date tonight, Ems."

Emily scoffed. "This girl. Telling me I was the perfect date when she took me to a dinner on the beach and told me about the stars. You're a little confused about who was the perfect one, I think."

Naomi heard several clicks and sighed. "Did my mum just flick the light on and off."

"Yes."

"I'm going to kill her," she said dangerously.

Emily giggled. "Don't." She tilted her head up and kissed Naomi again; a sweet goodbye kiss. "We wouldn't want to get carried away again anyway. I'll talk to you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah. Good night, Ems." She gave in to the urge to kiss Emily again but then she stepped away so that they wouldn't become one of those obnoxious 'no YOU hang up first' couples. She listened for the sound of Emily starting up the moped and turned around quickly before she went inside. "Ems?" she called.

Emily turned off the moped. "Yeah?"

"Soon, right?"

Apparently Emily didn't need to ask what she was talking about and she made Naomi laugh with her answer. "God, I hope so."

Naomi smiled and ducked inside. She thankfully didn't voice her first thought, which was "I hope so too", because she was immediately mobbed by both her mother and her dog. Bear was placated with thorough scratch behind his ears, but her mother demanded a step-by-step blow of the night before she let her go upstairs. Naomi gave her the carefully edited version instead.

She allowed herself a moment of giddy relief when her door closed behind her. They'd gotten through the whole date, Emily had loved it, and the world had not ended in a fiery explosion. Since those were all of the things that Naomi wanted to accomplish tonight she viewed the night as a success.

Bear whined when she locked him out of the bathroom so that she could shower off the sand and the smell of smoke in peace, but Naomi needed the quiet time. She could still feel the tension all through her muscles whenever she thought about the moment they had at the beach. It stayed coiled in her lower stomach and she knew her hormones were demanding that she pay attention to them immediately now that Emily wasn't around.

Just the thought of Emily and the way she felt moving underneath Naomi was enough of an incentive for her hand to trail down her stomach. She was not even remotely surprised with the amount of moisture that had collected between her legs, but she was definitely surprised about how quick she was. All it took was memories of the date and Naomi had to put on hand around the shower railing to keep her knees steady as she came with Emily's name falling softly off her lips.

She quickly changed into pyjamas afterward, feeling cleaner and much _much _more relaxed. Her phone chirped from her nightstand just as Bear had settled into the foot of her bed. She reached her arm across to grab it. Her heart fluttered when it told her she had a text from Emily.

**"I'm home safe. Thank you for my perfect date. Sweet dreams Naoms. E x" **

It was sent more than a half hour ago, but she texted back anyway: **Thank you for being perfect. N xx **

She knew Emily would probably protest to being called perfect, but Naomi fell asleep with a smile on her face anyway.

_Sweet dreams, indeed._

* * *

><p><strong>An: So? I wasn't really pleased with this chapter but I'm never pleased with anything I write so hopefully that means it's okay. It would be lovely if you could review. I love to hear about your favorite part, your least favorite part, or even your favorite line. Or tell me about your day. I love you guys! Either way, click the little blue button and tell me how you liked Naomily's first date? **

**See you on Wednesday! ~FS**


	15. Chapter Thirteen: Emily

**A/n: In my defense, I completely meant to keep the Wednesday deadline. I got home from work, sat on my bed, and the next thing I knew I was waking up with my clothes still on. I just completely passed out. So my apologies on that. In other news, the cover photo contest was kind of underwhelming? (And by that I mean only two people submitted, the submissions themselves were great.) So I'm keeping it open for another few days in case people want to submit late entries. This chapter is mostly un-beta'd because it's 7 in the morning and I'm not going to wake Liz up and ask her to do it. Enjoy! **

**There are a few references in here. One to Terry Pratchett and a really major obvious one to Grey's Anatomy. Spot them and get a virtual cookie.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Skins then season 7 would be all Naomily all the time. **

* * *

><p>Emily was awake and something was making a tapping sound against her window. Considering the fact that it was three in the morning, neither of those things should be happening. Across the room Katie made some kind of weird moaning sound and threw her pillow at Emily.<p>

"Tell Naomi her romantic gesture is completely un-fucking-appreciated," her twin snapped.

Rubbing her face with both hands did nothing to dispel the sleepiness. Emily sat up and shook her head to try and wake herself up. "It's not Naomi," she croaked out.

"Good point. Blind girl can't climb."

Emily stood up, grabbed the pillow Katie had thrown at her, and slammed it down onto Katie's stomach with as much power as she could. "Shut the fuck up."

"Fucking make me!"

"Separate, twins."

Emily's eyes snapped to their window; the same window that she herself climbed out onto the roof to think. Blue eyes met hers through the glass and Emily blinked. "Effy?"

Katie shot straight up in bed, all sense of sleepiness banished. She flicked the light on. "Effy?"

Effy's outline was vaguely visible through the glass. She was illuminated from behind by the brightly shining full moon and it made her skin a bleached sort of pale that looked almost ghostly. The lit end of the cigarette in her mouth glowed like the eyes of a devil.

Emily inhaled the smoke from it when she wrenched open the window. "What are you doing out there?" she hissed.

Effy shrugged as nonchalantly as someone smoking a cigarette outside their friend's window at three in the morning could. Emily had the distinct impression that only Effy could possibly pull something like that off. "Smoking," she said, holding up the cigarette for emphasis.

With a quick motion of her arm, Emily snatched the cigarette out of her hands and tossed it over the edge of the roof. Effy watched it sink into the grass and snub itself out on the early morning dew already condensing there before she turned back to Emily and pouted, vaguely like a child whose favorite toy had been inexplicably taken away.

It was only then, only when Effy actually looked at her, that Emily noticed the fragile set to her shoulders, the sad glimmer in the back of her eyes. Maybe to everyone else Effy was some sort of expressionless higher being, and maybe she even seemed that way to Emily sometimes too, but she had known Effy for a long time and she liked to think she knew her almost as well as Tony did.

Effy was upset. You could see it when she hesitantly climbed through their window instead of owning the space, and you could see it when she awkwardly shuffled her feet against the hardwood of their floor. Effy was almost never upset because she always had time to brace herself against the bad things that happened. She was the type of person who, when she saw the shit starting to hit the fan, stepped to the side of the fan. So Effy being noticeably affected by anything was not a usual occurrence in their lives.

Twin telepathy didn't exist, but most of the time Emily knew what her sister was thinking. When she met Katie's eyes over Effy's shoulder she knew that neither of them would push Effy for information tonight. Effy didn't need an interrogation, she needed her twins.

"Fancy a sleepover?" Katie asked quietly.

Emily could almost see the relief as it melted into Effy's body. Her nerves practically shook with it. Even when Effy shrugged again it was obvious that was the kind of answer she was looking for.

While Effy carefully stripped down to her shirt and knickers, Emily and Katie worked like a well-oiled machine to strip their beds and make a nest of mattresses and blankets and pillows in the middle of the room. Katie dove into the sea of bedding immediately. She'd always been the one, when they were younger, to claim the best spot at sleepovers. They'd met Effy when they were very young, and though many things had changed, it was kind of comforting to know that some things hadn't.

It was only when Emily turned off the light that Effy seemed to feel comfortable letting go. She crawled underneath the blankets and latched onto Katie's side like a frightened child clinging to a teddy bear. Emily could see that her sister was surprised for only a moment before she wrapped Effy up in her arms. Katie rocked her back and forth a little bit - gently - like she used to when James was littler and still fit in their arms.

Katie's eyes were scared and confused in the dark but Emily didn't have answers for her. All she knew was that something was wrong. She jumped into the nest and cuddled up behind Effy, wrapping her arms all the way around until her arms were entangled with Katie's, an unnatural knot of limbs that couldn't be differentiated from one another but that cocooned Effy protectively within them. Effy visibly relaxed when Emily joined them. She was caught in the middle of a Fitch hug and it seemed to be what she needed.

Emily wasn't going to ask if she was okay, because Effy would say yes; she wasn't going to ask if something was wrong, because Effy would say no. That was the way of things sometimes. You want to deal with something on your own, and most of the time you can, but sometimes you just need support. You lied because you didn't want to concern a loved one with your problems but at the same time you ached desperately to be held by them and told that everything was going to be just fine.

It was obvious that Effy didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering her, not now. And that was fine. The thing about unconditional love was that it hinged on that precedent: that it was unconditional. Freely given when needed and never revoked. A well of love that you couldn't deplete, or dam up, or push away.

Effy had held her together before. She'd wrapped Emily up in her arms after her own mother had said that she wished Emily was never born and held her through a night of tears, and with that silent support she'd healed a bit of Emily's heart. Whatever was bothering Effy, whatever this was that was affecting her so badly, she'd sought comfort with them. She wanted to be surrounded by their unconditional, sometimes violent, but ultimately protective, love.

If this was what Effy needed: a night with no questions, just the protection of being squashed almost painfully tight between two people who loved her, then that was what Effy would get. Emily couldn't deny her that.

She didn't particularly want to.

* * *

><p>When Emily woke up again, this time at a far more reasonable hour, she was alone in the nest of blankets. Instead of taking a shower and getting dressed, her first thought was to find Katie and Effy. Most of the house was silent but she could hear voices coming from the kitchen, so that was her first stop.<p>

Sure enough they were sitting at the kitchen table, heads bent over two cereal bowls and a copy of Heat. Effy was shaking her head as Katie read the article out loud.

"Kim Kardashian wore a dress so tight that the back ripped," Effy said after Katie paused to take a bite. "In other, equally surprising news, the Pope is Catholic!"

Emily snorted and both heads whipped up to look at her. Katie gave her a tiny smile around a mouthful of cereal. Effy waved. "Morning Em," she said. Looking at her sitting at their kitchen table, wearing her ripped jeans from yesterday and one of Katie's shirts, you would never think that she had broken down on them last night.

She went about the kitchen making herself something to eat but the entire time she kept her eye on Effy. It didn't _look _like anything was wrong with her. Not now, at least. But something _had _to be. It's not like Effy just popped 'round last night for their bi-weekly midnight cuddle session and morning tea.

"You can stop staring at me like that, Ems."

Emily stirred her coffee and tried to look innocent.

Effy sighed. "Seriously, Emily. I'm fine." She turned a little so that she was addressing Katie as well, since Emily's twin was probably an exact mirror of her concern at this point. "I just had a bad night. It happens. Can we please let it go? If Emily doesn't get dressed soon she's going to be late."

A quick glance at the clock above the stove proved her right. Emily cursed and shoved her half-full coffee into Effy's hands. She pressed a quick kiss against Effy's forehead (and then Katie's because Katie pouted about being left out) before she ran up the stairs two at a time. She was so focused on getting to her room she almost knocked her mother over at the top of the stairs.

"Shit! Sorry, Mum."

Jenna fixed her ruffled jacket and shook her head. "It's all right. Emily?"

Emily skidded to a stop halfway down the hall. She suppressed a sigh of annoyance as she turned around. "What's up?"

"Do you have a moment?"

This time Emily did sigh. "Not really. I'm going to be late picking up Naomi."

"All right, then. Have a good day at school."

Emily stopped. There was no reason for her to do so; she'd already been running late and the whole encounter had started with her bowling into her mother in the first place. Logic said that with the dismissal given by her mother she would take off running again. Something was different, though. Something in the inflection of her mother's voice, in the cadence of the words that she'd probably said a million times in their lifetimes, made her pause and turn around.

"I think I have a minute," she said hesitantly. "Do you need something?"

"No," Jenna shook her head. The corner of her mouth was tugged downward in a sad smile and her eyes, the same color that stared back at Emily in the mirror every day, were looking at her in a way she wasn't familiar with. "But it's very kind of you to ask. Please make sure your sister isn't late for school as well."

"Okay," Emily stretched the word as far as it could go. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

With that her mother was going down the stairs again. Emily brought a hand up to the side of her face and rubbed. Well, if that wasn't weirder than an ostrich playing golf, she didn't know what was. It was only as she was getting dressed for the day that she actually registered what emotion had been lurking in her mother's eyes that had made her stop.

It was affection.

* * *

><p>"It was fucking weird," Emily said firmly. Naomi hummed her agreement and turned the page of her book. "Are you even listening to me?"<p>

"Of course I'm listening to you," Naomi said vaguely. "Your mum was kind to you this morning and the entire balance of the world has shifted."

Emily tugged a bit on Naomi's hair and Naomi dropped her book. "Hey!"

It was lunchtime at school and despite the extremely odd way that the day had started, the rest of the day had been rather mundane and boring. The group had congregated outside to soak up the last few days of sun, since it was the beginning of November and it would probably be disappearing on them soon.

JJ was throwing his playing cards at the tree closest to them and trying to make them stick into the bark, which he insisted was possible, while Freddie smoked and watched him do this with fascination, his head going back and forth like he was watching a tennis match. Thomas and Panda were playing some sort of game with their hands that Panda was winning, if the beaming smiles and sporadic cheers of triumph were any indication. Effy was either napping in the shade of the nearby tree or doing a wonderful job of pretending to be. Emily and Naomi were sitting underneath the tree that JJ was throwing things at. Naomi had her head in Emily's lap and Emily was absentmindedly running her fingers through Naomi's hair while Naomi read a book. Every once in a while they'd be hit with a card.

Cook came bounding into the middle of this scene like a monkey on cocaine. He stood in the middle of their group with his arms akimbo and rolled his eyes. "You lot are boring little fuckers, you know that?"

Emily was far too comfy and warm to be offended by that. "It's twelve in the afternoon, Cook," she said instead.

"Exactly! And we're young. Young, and beautiful, and pumped to the gills with drugs."

"Cook, are you munted?" Naomi asked.

"Only a little. Don't change the subject, Blondie. We should be out doing something. Partying. Setting things on fire. Partying _and _setting things on fire."

"Because none of that would get us arrested," Effy drawled. At some point during Cook's spiel she had lifted herself onto her elbows. Emily studied her carefully, the fragile and broken Effy from earlier that morning still fresh in her mind, but with her face covered in the shadow from the tree Emily couldn't make out anything different about Effy now.

Maybe she was overreacting.

"I'm talking about this!" Cook held up the object in his hands proudly.

Naomi frowned. "It sounds like a piece of paper. I'm guessing you're excited about what's on it though."

The group burst into laughter and Naomi smiled proudly. It was probably the exact response she was looking for. Emily leaned over and kissed Naomi's forehead because she was just too fucking adorable to exist sometimes.

"It's proclaiming the Guy Fawkes festival," JJ announced for Naomi's sake. He stood up and brushed his jeans off before he tugged the paper out of Cook's hands. "Looks like a carnival all day in the Downs and fireworks tonight."

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot," Cook chanted in a deep voice. "I see no reason, on gunpowder treason, that we should not be sloshed!"

"I'm 99% sure those aren't the correct lyrics," JJ said.

"Cook, that's a public festival," Thomas pointed out, ever the calm and mellow one. "They are hardly going to allow us enough to 'get sloshed'."

Cook grinned his huge, rascally smile that almost seemed too big for his face, and pulled a flask from the pocket of his polo with a flourish. "So we bring our own fun, Thommo my boy."

When Naomi sighed, Emily felt as well as heard it. "He just pulled out alcohol, didn't he?" Naomi asked.

"Yup."

"Well, I can't say that I'm completely surprised."

"So," Cook clapped his hands together. "Stop being boring funsponges and let's get going."

Naomi held up a hand. "Wait. So your idea is to bunk off the rest of the day and go get drunk at the Bonfire festival instead?"

"That's it in a nutshell, yeah." Cook shrugged.

Emily raised an eyebrow. "What does Katie think of this plan?"

Cook shuffled his feet a bit and straightened his collar; he looked like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Katiekins is kinda miffed at me actually. Was hopin' you could ask her."

Sudden heat shot through her leg when Naomi turned her face into Emily's jeans to muffle her laughter. Emily grabbed onto her shoulders, not just because she was in danger of rolling off of Emily's lap, but because Naomi's mouth and nose were pressing into her thigh and the vibrations of Naomi's laughter were not helping the situation _at all_.

Cook was scowling at them. "Something funny, Naomikins?" he grumbled.

"You're scared of Katie," Naomi lifted her head and gasped for breath. "That's fucking hysterical."

There were red lines on her face from pressing into Emily's jeans. Emily traced one with the tip of her finger and Naomi scrunched up her nose. She caught Emily's hand in hers and kissed her palm.

"She says it sounds idiotic so that probably means she'll come," Effy said out of nowhere. She wiggled her phone in the air when everyone turned to stare at her. Emily's eyes lingered a little while after everyone else turned away, like she would somehow be able to see something the others hadn't.

Naomi's adorably confused face distracted her. "How do you know that?" she asked Effy.

Panda answered instead. "Katie's got her own language. Not just the one she has with Ems, though that's whizzer cool too! She don't like to seem like she wants something too bad so she makes fun of it. One insult means she wants to go. Two means she doesn't but she probably will. Three means she won't. It's like opposite day or a secret code or something. That's why she always called Cook repulsive. So it wouldn't hurt so much when he liked Effy."

Emily's jaw dropped. Pandora Moon was a secret ninja-genius.

Everyone else was still starting at Panda, who shrugged like it was no big deal that she'd just decoded the intricate details behind Katie's sensitive social issues.

Freddie cleared his throat. "So...Bonfire, then?"

* * *

><p>The park smelled like popcorn and smoke. The air was rich with the sound of loud voices and the ringing of games set up in booths, with paths that looked like they were drawn into place by a drunk architect with a pencil. There were rides set up sporadically. They didn't look very appealing, and some of them looked downright dangerous, but as far as she could tell no one had actually died...yet.<p>

There was food around, but Emily wouldn't exactly call it edible. Cook had grabbed himself a caramel apple somewhere. All Emily could say about it was that it was a fruit that was vaguely apple-shaped and covered in something that looked like it could be caramel if you were being very generous with the name. She wasn't the one eating it, though, and Cook seemed to enjoy it so she decided not to comment.

Suddenly arms were thrown around her neck and Effy dragged her over so that she could plant a kiss on Emily's cheek. "Cheer up, Ems. You can stop looking like we're dragging you to your doom."

Emily frowned at a man who was sitting on the edge of one of the booths. He leered at her and smiled, revealing more gums than teeth in his mouth.

"Are you sure this place is sanitary?" she asked, knowing Effy would know exactly what she was quoting. "It looks questionable to me."

Katie tried to look like she didn't know what they were talking about, but Emily could see the little smile that tugged at the corners of her sister's mouth.

"Did I just miss something?" Naomi asked.

Emily's heart swooned because the way that Naomi scrunched up her nose when she was confused was still the most adorable thing she'd ever seen in her life. She patted Effy's hand and then slipped out from underneath her friend's arm so that she could slide her right arm around Naomi's waist. She slipped her right hand into Naomi's jacket pocket and sighed happily when Naomi twisted her hand around so they were holding hands inside her pocket.

"It's a movie we all liked as kids," she explained. "We'll watch it sometime so you can hear the music. The soundtrack is great."

Naomi's face lit up. "Soon?" she asked.

Emily bit her lip. This adorable fucking girl, she was going to be the death of her. "Definitely."

Effy smiled at them and it was such a weirdly sad smile that Emily almost let go of Naomi to drag Effy away to demand answers. The moment passed, though, and the very next second Effy had a genuine smile on as she nodded her head at something over Emily's shoulder.

"Looks like Lara is putting a backbone in JJ," Effy said.

Emily looked over her shoulder and grinned. The rest of the group had wandered away from their conversation and over to one of the game booths. In this case it was a basketball one where if you got a shot in you got to pick a prize. The more shots in equaled the bigger prize. Lara had arrived and it seemed like JJ had become determined to win her a bear.

"Oh, this is going to end well," Emily said.

"Listen, mate," the booth runner was saying as they got closer, "I don't appreciate fucking cheaters coming to my booth."

"It's not cheating, it's mathematics," JJ said calmly. "The board behind the basket is warped so that the middle of the backboard, where most people would logically use to help their ball into the hoop, actually tilts the ball away from the hoop. However, because the backboard is warped, that means that another angle on the backboard has to perform the opposite function and tilt it _towards _the hoop. After I figured that out it was simply trial and error to get the correct angle. Furthermore I would say that warping the board like that means that _you're _cheating, not me."

To prove what he just said, he picked up the basketball in front of him and shot it. It hit a spot at the top left of the backboard and Emily smirked as the ball obediently changed direction and sailed smoothly into the hoop. He did it a few more times for good measure and Emily had to contain her laughter at the incredulous look on the booth runner's face and the mischievous twinkle in JJ's eye. JJ might be socially awkward, but there was a reason he was the third Musketeer.

"Fine," the booth runner snarled. He leaned forward and grabbed the next basketball out of JJ's hands. He looked nervous. "Just pick whatever your girl wants and leave. I can't have you spreading around the secrets of the trade. Bad for business."

JJ bowed and swept his hand towards the row of toys at the back, grinning at Lara like a little kid. Lara laughed and picked the biggest, fluffiest bear in the booth. It was almost as big as Emily and Lara could barely get her arms around it, but she looked happy with it and JJ looked even happier when she kissed him.

She heard Naomi giggle in her ear. "JJ is a secret badass," she said.

Emily kissed her on the cheek. "I always knew he had it in him."

* * *

><p>Little known fact: Emily was afraid of heights. Not in the 'oh my God I can't possibly go up that high I'm going to throw up' kind of way, but in a more nervous kind of way. The whole group was going on the Ferris Wheel, though, and Naomi wanted to go too, so Emily was obediently sitting in one of the seats and clutching Naomi's hand like it was her lifeline.<p>

"Nervous?" Naomi teased.

"Not at all," Emily replied quickly. Her voice cracked a little and betrayed her. "A little. But I would do anything for you."

Naomi was quiet for a moment and then she scooted over and threw her arms around Emily, pulling her into her side and letting Emily snuggle into the crook of her neck. Naomi's grey jacket was made of some kind of soft material and Emily rubbed her cheek against it as she cuddled closer.

"Oh my God, I can actually feel you guys being ridiculously cute up there. Would you stop it? I don't want to throw up."

Emily laughed against the skin of Naomi's neck. When Naomi chuckled she could hear it and feel it.

"Don't be jealous just because you're being a brat and aren't sitting with the person you should be acting ridiculously cute with," Emily shot down at her sister, who was sitting with Effy in the seat below them.

"Um, just so you know, I could act ridiculously cute with Effy and we would be a way hotter lesbian couple than you."

Emily shot a quick response back, but she wasn't even sure what they were arguing about at this point. It was just a fundamental rule of the universe that Emily and Katie, if given a rope, would automatically pull in the opposite direction. It wasn't anything they did on purpose. It was just the way they were built. It was nature, or genetics, or simply their personalities. To say that the twins were healthily competitive by nature was like saying that piranhas were naturally a little peckish.

Katie was still mad at Cook for a reason she wouldn't tell Emily, so Panda and Thomas got their own seats at the top, JJ and Lara were right below them, then Emily and Naomi, and Katie and Effy were in the seat just underneath them, while Freddie and Cook stayed on the ground to - she didn't know - probably eat everything that everyone had left for them to hold onto. If Emily's candy floss was still there when they reached the ground she would be very impressed with their self-control.

They got halfway to the top of the wheel and then it did its obligatory stop to give people a view. Emily's grip on Naomi's hand tightened again.

"Still nervous?" Naomi asked.

Emily nodded into her shoulder and then squeaked when Naomi wiggled away. "Hey! I was holding on to you!"

"Yeah, I know. I'm providing a distraction instead." Naomi grinned at her and reached out to tilt her chin up.

Emily's heart forgot how to work. "Oh," she said, just before Naomi's lips covered hers.

When Naomi's tongue gently flicked against her bottom lip, it was suddenly very hard to remember why she was even supposed to be nervous in the first place. The only reason her heart was beating fast now was because of Naomi's lips against her own. The height issue was completely forgotten. Naomi's warm hands cupped her face and Emily leaned up into the kiss. She grabbed the hood of Naomi's jacket and pulled Naomi into her, trying to erase the space between them, trying to get as close to her as possible. Closer than possible.

Above them, Panda whooped at being at the top. Below them, Katie scoffed.

"You two are making out up there, aren't you? You totally are! I can see your feet all tangled together. Jesus Christ you two are gross."

The Wheel stopped abruptly and Emily could hear shouting from below. She reluctantly broke the kiss and rested her forehead against Naomi's. She sighed. "Why do I have the feeling that has something to do with our friends?"

"Because we hang out with a group of insane people?" Naomi suggested. She smiled and nudged her nose against Emily's. "Look over and tell me what you see?"

Emily sighed again and did as requested. "Oh my God," she blurted out. "Cook what the fuck are you doing?"

Cook had seemed to decide to fuck the rules and was now, with upper-body strength that Emily's dad would be proud of, climbing up the spokes of the Ferris Wheel. His destination seemed to be Katie and Effy's seat.

"What is he doing?" Naomi asked, her voice high with nerves.

Emily groaned and put her hands over her eyes so she wouldn't have to see Cook climbing. "He's climbing up the fucking Ferris Wheel."

"Oh my God," Naomi leaned forward a little in the seat and shouted down. "Cook, you dickhead! I said something _like _something from The Notebook! I didn't say to fucking copy it!"

Emily pulled her hands away from her face and turned to look at Naomi, who suddenly looked sheepish. "You what?"

"Katie's mad at him because he's never asked her on a real date like we went on," Naomi explained, and Emily had a feeling the redness on her cheeks was from more than the chilly air around them. "He asked me what he should do and I said he should ask her out on one and be romantic about it. And now he's climbing the Ferris Wheel so if he dies it's my fault."

"If it makes you feel any better he's doing a good job?" Emily said weakly.

"Yeah, not really."

So Emily and Naomi had front-row seats to Cook hanging onto the metal of the Ferris Wheel and asking Katie out on a date. Katie yelled at him for risking his life and being an idiot, but she also said yes, and if Katie wasn't so pleased that she was going to explode then Emily would eat her shoe.

Cook climbed into the seat between Effy and Katie and the Ferris Wheel started going again, so Emily and Naomi also had front row seats to Cook running away from the Ferris Wheel operator and two security guards. They didn't catch him at all and Emily wasn't even close to being surprised when Katie disappeared from the group soon afterwards. They caught back up with the group when everyone had gathered on a hill to watch the fireworks later. Emily carefully did not comment on Katie's hair or Cook's shirt being on inside out.

She sat back against a tree, with her knees raised and her legs open, and held her arms out to Naomi.

"Come here," she said.

Naomi smiled and sat down in front of Emily, scooting up so she was between Emily's legs. Emily restrained from making a joke about that and wrapped her arms around Naomi instead. Naomi curled her legs up too, so that her knees bumped against Emily's, and she put her hands over Emily's hands on her stomach and curled their fingers together. Emily buried her face in Naomi's hair and smiled like a fool.

"Want me to warn you when the fireworks are about to go off?" she asked.

Naomi shook her head. "I think I'll be okay," she said.

The fireworks were Emily's favorite part of any Guy Fawke's day celebration and just as the first one off she had an idea. She put her fingers on Naomi's raised knee so that all five of her fingers were scrunched together on one point. When the firework exploded she made a 'pshew' sound in Naomi's ear and spread her fingers out, like they were exploding from that one point.

"Red," she said.

Naomi turned her face into Emily's neck, but Emily could feel the way she smiled against her skin.

She did it again. Naomi giggled at the little 'pshew' sound. "Blue." She did it with both hands when two of them went off at once. "Purple and red."

It was difficult to keep up with some of them. She used one finger to draw wiggles up and down Naomi's thigh for the ones that flew around, and she swirled around Naomi's knee for the ones that twirled, and the grand finale had her scrambling to keep up and Naomi laughed like mad. It was worth it, though, for the smile that Emily could feel and the giggles she heard in her ear, and the absolute gratitude when Naomi kissed her by the car later.

"Ugh, you two could win the Iditarod with all the mush going on over here," Katie said as she wiggled past them to get into the car.

Emily glared at her over Naomi's shoulder. "Must you comment on everything?" she asked.

"Yes, actually."

Emily shook her head and Naomi laughed. They wound up not sitting together on the ride home because Panda wanted to talk about the English homework due on Monday and, "So was it the ghost who did it, or Voldemort? He's a right bugger, isn't he?"

Effy climbed back from where she was sitting on Freddie's lap in the front seat to sit with Emily into Naomi's recently vacated spot. "Did you say it?" she asked.

"What?" Emily managed to rip her eyes away from the very funny sight of Naomi trying to explain Shakespeare to Pandora and look at Effy. Effy's head was cocked to the side. She had that funny, sad smile on her face again.

"'I love you'," Effy said. "'I don't ever want to live without you. You changed my life.' Did you say it?"

"What?" Emily yelped. She lowered her voice when a couple of heads turned to look at her. "I mean, what? No. Of course not. It's too...that's too much. We haven't even slept together yet. I don't want to scare her off."

Effy shook her head. "You've got an idea in your head, Ems, and that's great. Asking her to marry you right this minute would be too fast. But telling her how you feel? That's just life. And you have to experience life. Look around and drink it in. 'Cause this is it. It might all be gone tomorrow."

"Effy -"

"Eff, babes," Cook called from the front, "what was that thing you said earlier about the strings? I'm trying to explain it to Freds."

"When I was little I used to think that invisible strings tied you to the earth and kept you alive, and that when you died all of the strings inside you broke."

Two confused faces looked at her, one from the front seat and one in the rearview mirror from the driver's seat. Effy sighed and shook her head. "I'll come up and explain."

Emily grabbed her arm as Effy started to climb over the center console. "Eff, what you just said about the strings -"

"I was a kid, Em. And then I found out about gravity and I felt like a genius," she winked at Emily and climbed back into Freddie's lap. Naomi scrambled into the seat and pressed a sloppy kiss to Emily's cheek. Emily turned to her and smiled, and tried to ignore the knot in her stomach.

* * *

><p>Naomi was spending the night at Emily's again. They both cuddled on Emily's bed and Katie pointed an accusing finger at them.<p>

"I'm going to take a shower," she announced. "I swear if I come back and either of you have less clothes on than when I left I will set you both on fire."

Emily smirked. "Duly noted," she said.

In Emily's defense, she absolutely had plans to obey her sister's threat. It was Naomi who waited for the door to close and the squeak of the shower turning on to echo back to them before she rolled over and put her hands on either side of Emily's head. Every hormone in Emily's body went insane at the feeling of Naomi's weight on top of her.

"What are you doing?" she gasped out.

Naomi's grin was nervously wicked. "Something stupid," she said. Then she leaned forward and pressed a kiss just above Emily's collarbone. Emily hadn't bothered to wear more than the zip-up she'd been wearing to the festival before she went to bed and the feeling of Naomi's hands working at the zipper made her feel like her body was going to explode. Every time Naomi pulled the zipper down another inch or so she leaned down and placed a kiss on the skin that it revealed. Her nose brushed against the side of Emily's breast and Emily's hands shot up to clutch at Naomi's t-shirt.

"I'm doing okay, then?" Naomi asked with a nervous chuckle.

"You're going to kill me," Emily groaned. Her hands traveled slowly up Naomi's stomach, slowly enough to give Naomi time to stop her, but the little whimper that Naomi made when Emily's hands brushed the underside of her breasts only encouraged her. The moan she got when she palmed Naomi's breasts possessively was the greatest sound she'd ever heard in her entire life.

Naomi got to the end of the zipper and placed a kiss on Emily's stomach before she shot up and kissed Emily on the lips. It was the roughest kiss they'd ever shared, full of heat and a desperate need, and Emily was pretty sure she was going to kill her sister when she heard her bang on the door before it opened.

Naomi rolled to the side and Emily made sure the blanket masked the fact that her sweatshirt was no longer covering a whole lot.

"What did I say?" Katie rolled her eyes. "Fucking lesbians can't keep their hands off each other."

"There are so many things I could throw at you to counter that," Emily said. Her voice was low and rough. "But I won't because I'm a good sister."

"Whatever. Don't you dare have sex when I'm _right here_."

Naomi made a disgusted noise. "I think that would be traumatizing for everyone involved."

"Good, then it's sorted." Katie clicked off the light and jumped into bed. Emily watched her as she turned her back on them pointedly.

Emily just lay there on her back and tried to catch her breath. She zipped her sweatshirt back up as quietly as possible.

"I'm ignoring that sound."

"Shut up, Katie!"

Naomi laughed and rolled back over to snuggle into Emily's side. She pulled at the blanket until she had some of Emily's part around her shoulders. Emily huffed but let the thievery happen. _Little blanket stealer, _she thought without malice.

"Well that was fun," Naomi murmured after both of their hearts had stopped racing.

"Mmm," Emily agreed, already on the verge of sleep, lulled by her sister's familiar soft snores and the heat of Naomi's body. "We'll have to do it again sometime."

Naomi sighed happily. "Definitely."

* * *

><p>The tapping against her window woke her up again.<p>

Emily groaned and cuddled closer into Naomi's warmth. Naomi murmured in her sleep but otherwise didn't react. Emily turned her head away from Naomi's ear so she could say to Katie: "Your turn."

"We're not raising a fucking child here. You're closer to the window."

"I did it last time!"

"Well I'm comfortable!"

Naomi blinked her eyes open and moaned. "Do you two fight about everything?"

"Yes."

"No."

The tapping got more insistent and Emily heard Katie grumble but get out of bed and open the window.

"Tell Effy she's cuddling with just you tonight," Emily said. "I've got someone else in my bed."

Naomi had stuck her head under Emily's pillow in a cute attempt to go back to sleep, but she still had her arms around Emily and they tightened at the sound of her voice. It was only as Emily was trying to get back to sleep that she noticed that the new voice in the room was deeper than she'd expected and that Katie wasn't making a sound.

She rolled over and grinned as she repeated her sister's comment from the other day. "Tell Cook his romantic gesture is completely un-fucking-appreciated," she said. Her smile faded immediately when she saw Cook holding a silently crying Katie in his arms. He turned red-rimmed eyes towards her, his face a mask of confusion and grief. She sat up and Naomi's arms fell away from her. "What?"

"Effy's in the hospital," Cook's voice sounded like he'd been screaming, full of deep sadness and jagged edges. "She tried to kill herself."

The world fell away. Even as Naomi's arms came back up to hold her again, all Emily could think about was the invisible strings that kept you on earth.

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><p><strong>An: Remember if you kill me you don't get an update. You can click the little button to yell at me, although I hope you use it to tell me what you liked and didn't like about the chapter instead. **

**I feel like it'll be mostly yelling though. **

**See you Wednesday! - FS**


	16. Chapter Fourteen: Naomi

**A/n: I always seem to have excuses for being late, don't I? This time it was my hard drive failing. I got a bright shiny new one, but at the cost of the Word Doc that was on it. This chapter had to be re-written from memory in about two days. I could have had it typed out in a few hours but I would rather have written a chapter that I thought was quality for you all and updated late than rush myself and give you a sub-par chapter. I hope this chapter lives up to you expectations.**

**Speaking of quality writing, the _amazing _Lizardwriter wrote an original book. It is awesome. You can find it by searching Faith's Demons on Amazon and you should all do that immediately. **

**Also, this chapter is definitely M. Trigger warning for talk of suicide. But that's not the only reason it's rated M. Do not read around grandparents, small children, or any combination thereof. This chapter is un-beta'd and probably contains mistakes because I wanted to get it out before I left to go camping this weekend and didn't have time to read it through as much as I would have liked. Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Nope.**

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><p>You know how in movies and TV shows all the dramatic bits happen in slow motion? Real life isn't like that.<p>

The truth was, Naomi could barely even remember the time it took to get from Emily's house to the hospital. She knew that the transition must have taken place, but her brain couldn't make the connection. It just seemed like one moment she was in Emily's bed and the next she was in a hospital waiting room, with no time between the two.

The chair underneath her was uncomfortable. It was stuffed uncomfortably hard and a bit of the back of it was digging into her tailbone. The sterile scent of antiseptic in the air had replaced the feeling of Emily in her arms, and it was a cold second. She could feel the rest of the group around her, but only in a vague way. Freddie, JJ, and Cook were all huddled together. From what she knew about their past, Effy had a piece of each of their hearts, and it seemed like the boys were trying to mash the broken parts together to see if that would make this sudden event hurt less. Thomas and Pandora were farther away from them. Naomi could hear Thomas singing quietly under his breath. It was French; soothing and melodic. She noticed that Panda sometimes sang along with the end of a line.

Katie and Emily were closest to her. They were huddled together on a loveseat with Naomi perched on the arm closest to Emily. Her girlfriend had her hand in a vice-like grip that locked Naomi into place. It was like Emily sensed how uncomfortable she was and was trying to keep her there by sheer force of will.

Naomi hated hospitals. She hated the smell, and the noise, and the overwhelming sense of sadness. Logically, she knew that hospitals were good. They helped people, lots of people, every single day. It was just that in her mind, a hospital room was the last thing she ever saw.

She needed to get out. Just for a second.

She lifted Emily's hand and kissed her knuckles. Emily's grip tightened when she stood up and grabbed her cane.

"Where are you going?" Emily asked. Her voice was low, like talking too loud would break something important.

"To have a smoke," Naomi reassured her. "I'll be back inside in a minute."

Emily stood up and gave her a kiss, but it was distracted. Her mind wasn't in it. If her mind was anything like Naomi's then it was just a whirlwind of questions that offered no solutions. All they knew was that it had happened sometime in the night, and that Effy's mother had found her lying next to a bottle of pills in the morning. They'd gotten to her in time - thank God - but just barely. Physically, she was okay. They were just waiting for Effy to decide to wake up so they could get their answers.

It wasn't that difficult to find the doors outside. It was the only direction that people seemed to be willingly traveling in. She felt around until she found a bench that had an empty seat.

"Don't just stand there," a harsh feminine voice said, "sit down."

Naomi sat. "Thank you."

"It's just a seat."

They sat in silence together, Naomi and the woman who smelled of the same jasmine perfume that Effy wore. When Naomi finished her cigarette she ground out the stub and tucked her hands between her legs to keep them warm. The fresh, cool air felt good against her skin.

The woman broke the silence first. "You're Emily's new girl, aren't you? The one Effy likes so much. Nancy or Nadia or something."

Naomi bit her lip to push down the rush of emotion that swelled up at the sentence 'the one Effy likes so much'. "Naomi," she corrected.

"I knew it was something like that." Anthea Stonem coughed and Naomi heard the sound of a lighter being flicked on. "You couldn't stand all those sad little faces in there either, am I right?"

Naomi pressed her knees together until it felt like the bones in her hand were grinding. Somehow it helped her think. "I'm blind."

"I knew that too. I think." Anthea said after an awkward pause. "Sorry about that."

"It's not your fault," Naomi shrugged.

Anthea laughed. It turned into a hacking cough halfway through, but she pushed Naomi's hand away when Naomi moved to pat her back. "You know what? That's what everyone keeps telling me."

It seemed like silence was the only answer to that. Naomi bit the inside of her cheek and chewed on it a little.

"It's not my fault my kid can't stand to be in the same world as me, let alone the same house. It's not my fault that my son calls twice a month and never comes home on holidays. It's not my fault that my husband moved out. But you know what? I think you're right, kid. You being blind is finally something that isn't my fault."

Naomi cleared her throat. "Glad I could help."

Anthea laughed again, bitterly. "Effy likes to play games," Anthea said after another few minutes of silence. "She was seven the first time she beat me at Hide and Go Seek. I searched for her for hours. I called her name. I screamed at her. Eventually Tony came home from school and he found her immediately, but I don't think I'll ever forget it. She just had a smile on her face. Her special Effy smile that says, 'You don't know me at all. And you never will'." Another bitter laugh. "I guess she was right."

There was the swish of the automatic doors opening behind them and Naomi's heart jumped when she heard Emily calling her name.

"I've got her," Anthea answered. "All safe and sound."

Emily walked over and wrapped her arm around Naomi's shoulder. Naomi turned into the comfort. She could feel Anthea's eyes on them.

"Felt like escaping as well, did you?" Anthea asked.

Naomi felt Emily stiffen behind her. She reached up and ran her hand up and down Emily's forearm, trying to relax the muscles. Emily didn't reply.

Anthea snorted next to them and Naomi heard the lighter click again. "You mad at me too, tiny? Can't say I blame you. If you've got a righteous little speech all planned out you can save it, though. Freddie already yelled at me about what a shit parent I am."

Emily was absolutely silent and no matter how much Naomi tugged on her hand, she didn't answer Anthea's question.

"That's about what I expected," Anthea sighed. She reached out and awkwardly patted Naomi's arm. "Well, I'm going to go inside and harass the nurses. Come in when you're finished having your tantrum."

At this point it felt like a board of wood was standing behind Naomi instead of a person. As soon as she heard the automatic doors close again, she stood up and turned around. She cradled Emily's face in one hand and rubbed Emily's shoulder with the other. "Talk to me," she encouraged. "Let it out."

Emily's entire body shook as she leaned her forehead against Naomi's shoulder. "I'm just so mad," she said.

"At who?"

"Her! Me! Everyone! Why didn't we see the signs? Why didn't we know? We should have known!"

Naomi wrapped her arms fully around Emily and stroked her hair, trying to comfort the heaving ball of emotions she was holding in her arms.

"Sometimes there are no signs," Naomi said quietly. She wasn't even sure Emily heard her until she heard Emily's sniffles die down. "Sometimes there is no cry for help. It just...happens. And you can't stop it, because there wasn't anything to show you that you could prevent it."

Emily sniffled again. "Why do you sound like you know what you're talking about."

"I do, a bit."

There was no verbal response to that. Instead, Emily tightened her arms around Naomi to a point that it was almost painful, like she was trying to keep Naomi from flying away in a strong wind. Naomi tightened her own arms in response and started to very gently rock Emily back and forth.

"I keep trying to make it make sense in my head," Emily said tearfully. She nuzzled the shoulder of Naomi's jacket, probably getting tears and snot all over the fabric. Naomi didn't particularly care about the jacket she was wearing anyway.

"It won't ever make sense because it doesn't," Naomi said. "But Effy is alive. Instead of thinking that she could have been dead, think about the fact that she's alive. And think about how very soon you'll be able to yell at her for being a twat."

Emily laughed. It turned into a sob halfway through, and before Naomi could count to ten she had a crying girlfriend in her arms instead of merely an upset one. She tucked Emily's head securely under her chin and started rubbing up and down her back, making soft shushing noises.

"It's okay, Em," she whispered over and over again. "It's going to be okay."

_Please, God,_ she thought, _don't make me a liar._

* * *

><p>Effy woke up a few hours later. Her doctor was overly exuberant in his attempt to cheer them up.<p>

"Faces up, kiddos," he'd said. "Your friend is going to be just fine. Kids your age, you're durable."

Adults always said that. That kids were durable, or tough, and that anytime something knocked them down they always bounced back again soon enough; anything to make them feel better about the shit they put their children through.

And anyway, sitting next to Effy's hospital bed, Naomi didn't feel durable. She felt fragile. Effy's breathing and the high-pitched beeps of the machines that she was attached to were the only sounds in the room. The beeps made Naomi nervous, mostly because they were so similar to what she had woken up to after the accident. She'd avoided hospitals since she was seven years old. This was a supremely uncomfortable situation for her.

"I know talking isn't your strong point anyway," Naomi began after the silence became too much for her, "and, you know, blind girl can't tell if you're even still awake or not since I'm the last person to come in here, so I'm just going to talk at you anyway."

Effy's breathing changed a little bit; a hitch in the intake that sounded kind of like a laugh. Naomi smiled to herself.

"Everyone else probably yelled at you for being stupid and not talking to them," she continued. "I'm not going to do that. I'm going to yell at you for being selfish."

There was another sharp intake of breath, but this once sounded angrier.

"Get pissed if you want, it's the truth," Naomi snapped. "I get it, okay? You wanted to protect Freddie from thinking about his mum, and everyone one else was happy. Cook and Katie, JJ and Lara, Thomas and Panda, me and Emily, we were all happy and you didn't want to say anything because you thought, in our happiness, that we wouldn't understand. Well, I would have."

This time Effy definitely scoffed. Naomi took it as progress even as the anger she'd had building up inside her chest spilled out of her mouth without being filtered by her brain.

"Fuck you, Eff, I would have. You don't think the thought never crossed my mind? I wasn't born this way, Effy. I had seven years of sight before I lost it. I knew what I was missing. You don't think I never hit a point where I thought the world wouldn't miss me? That my mum would be better off without me?"

Silence from Effy's bed. She was listening to this, at least.

"Well, maybe you're right. Maybe we'd have eventually moved past this. Maybe. But we'd never be the same afterward. The universe doesn't work like that. You get attached to someone and they have a piece of you forever. If they leave the world, you don't get that piece back. It's just gone. And there's no other person in the world who fits that spot. And you were just gonna leave us all here with giant, bleeding Effy-shaped holes."

Effy breathed deeply in and then out again. Her hand inched towards Naomi's on the bed. Naomi reached out to grab it and squeeze tightly.

"I might eventually forgive you for being idiotic as long as you contain it to just this one time, but don't even make Emily feel like this again, do you hear me?" Naomi growled. "You hurt Emily like this again and I'll kill you myself. And I'm too upset to think up a witty way for me to kill you, but just know that it's going to happen."

Effy cleared her throat a few times. When she spoke, it wasn't the same smooth Effy voice that she'd come to expect. It was softer and more vulnerable. "I am lioness, hear me roar. Hurt my mate and die," she said. "You know the lionesses are the ones that do the hunting, right?"

"Nice evasion, but not exactly the answer I was looking for," Naomi snapped. "I was thinking something more along the lines of two words. A phrase that rhymes with 'mime quarry'."

Effy sighed. "I'm sorry," she said eventually.

Naomi squeezed her hand. "Much better. Now this time why don't you try the talking thing? It can be very therapeutic. It doesn't even have to be me. It can be Katie or Emily or even your mum. But please, Eff, talk to someone."

Nothing but silence greeted that. Naomi sat in it for a while because it wasn't the uncomfortable silence from before, but soon the nurse came in and said that visiting hours were almost over. Naomi stood up and grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair.

"Thank you for talking to me," Effy said just as Naomi opened the door. "And I will, I think. When Freddie comes back tomorrow. He...he's a lot stronger than I give him credit for."

"We all are," Naomi said gently. "Who knows, maybe you'll even enjoy being the one doing all the talking this time."

"I don't think so."

"Well, there's always a chance."

"Not a big one."

Naomi smiled and thought of how, in a universe of infinite possibility, there had been a chance that Emily felt the same way about her that she did about Emily.

"You don't need a big one."

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><p>Emily didn't want to go home.<p>

Which was fine, because Naomi didn't particularly like the thought of Emily being upset so far away from where she would be able to comfort her. She didn't even call ahead to see if Emily could sleep over, because the amount of fucks that her mother could give about Emily sleeping over without permission numbered somewhere in the negatives. Even so, she was surprised to find the house empty of everyone except Bear.

"Hello?" she called. She bumped into the hall table that she always forgot was there and reached out a questing hand until she bumped into the answering machine. She touched the big button in the center and was informed that there was one new message waiting to be heard.

_"Hey love it's mum. I know you're busy up at the hospital so there's some food in the fridge to be warmed up and some of the tea that Emily likes in the cupboard. Kieran and I are out, we'll probably be home about midnight or so. Give Emily a hug for us."_ **_Beeeeeeeep_**.

Emily sniffled. "Your mother is a lovely woman," she said quietly.

Naomi shook her head and saved the message to listen to again later. It struck her, as it normally did when her mother did something to casually wonderful, that as annoying as she was...she really couldn't ask for a better mum.

"So do you want some tea?" Naomi asked. "Apparently we stock your favorite, although mum often forgets to buy what I like. I can see the favoritism going on here."

Emily gave her a tired little chuckle. "I actually just sort of feel like cuddling in bed?" she asked hopefully.

Naomi smiled. "Well, I happen to be a world class cuddler."

"Are you now?"

"Yup. Got an award for it and everything."

"Well, far be for it for me to refuse the attentions of someone who gets awards for cuddling."

Naomi bowed extravagantly towards the staircase. She smiled because Emily giggled again. "Your cuddling chamber awaits, m'lady."

Emily jumped right into Naomi's bed without even changing first and groaned. "We didn't do anything besides sit today and I'm wrecked," Emily said. "Why is that?"

"Emotional stress can make you tired far easier than physical or mental stress can," Naomi said vaguely as she rooted around for some spare clothes for Emily to wear.

"I wish I was mentally tired," Emily sighed. "My brain is going a mile a minute. Being mentally tired would be a blessing."

Naomi's hands stilled inside her bureau and she straightened up so fast she hit her elbow on the swinging lamp attached to her desk. "Ow."

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." Naomi rubbed the spot on her elbow distractedly. The idea was so sudden that she could have sworn a little cupid Effy was flying around somewhere and had inserted the knowledge directly into her brain. She'd been searching for the perfect time, the perfect way...and yet nothing seemed more perfect then making Emily feel good. She ushered Bear out the door and he whined in betrayal when she shut it behind her.

"Bear doesn't get to cuddle too?" Emily asked.

"Not tonight," Naomi said seriously.

She walked over to the edge of her bed and grabbed Emily's ankles, pulling her closer until her knees bumped into Naomi's. Naomi pulled herself onto the mattress and straddled Emily, leaning down to kiss her almost before Emily had time to react.

Emily didn't fight her. Instead, she lifted herself up into the kiss and threaded her hands through Naomi's hair. Her lips and tongue were warm and she moaned when Naomi pulled back a little so she could bite at Emily's bottom lip. Very slowly her fingers worked to unbutton the top button of Emily's shirt.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked, mirroring the other night when they had been so unfortunately interrupted.

"If you have to ask, I'm concerned about your lack of knowledge," Naomi smiled against the skin of Emily's neck when heard and felt Emily chuckle.

"Naomi...mmm," Emily hummed when Naomi kissed a spot just along her collarbone. She wiggled underneath her when Naomi went over the spot again with her teeth and tongue. "Are you sure?" she gasped out.

Naomi raised her head up and kissed her deeply; deep enough that they were both gasping a bit for air when she pulled away. "I'm with you," she said breathlessly. "Of course I'm sure."

Emily lifted herself up and tugged her shirt off the rest of the way so that Naomi could have more of her skin to explore. And explore she did. Naomi ran her hands and lips over Emily with unmitigated delight. She saw with her hands, and she wanted to map every single centimeter of Emily's soft skin into her mind forever.

She catalogued every detail: every spot that made Emily gasp or arch up into her touch, every tiny scar or imperfection, every dip or rise, she paid attention to all of it. The way kissing the inside of her wrists made her sigh. The way she whimpered when Naomi tugged on her belly button piercing with her teeth. The way her hand shot out to hold Naomi's head to her at a certain spot on her neck.

While her lips were busy on Emily's neck, Naomi's hands had found other things to do. Her finger traced the outline along the top of Emily's bra for a moment before her hands spread out and cupped Emily's breasts. Her nipples were hard points pressing against Naomi's hand through the fabric and she arched up into the touch in a way that made Naomi want her to do it again. She pulled her lips away from Emily's neck and fumbled a little bit with the clasp.

"Fuck it," she cursed breathlessly, "I can do it to myself."

Emily giggled. "It's tougher when it's someone else," she said. She wiggled up a bit so that they worked together to take her bra off and then they fell back into the bed together in a tangle of limbs.

Naomi dropped her head to nuzzle Emily's breasts, and Emily stopped laughing immediately. She ran her tongue experimentally over the peak of Emily's right nipple and the guttural moan she got in reward was so insanely hot that she did it again just to hear it a second time. Emily's hands clenched and unclenched at the fabric around her shoulders and then she pushed at Naomi's shirt to try and get it off. Naomi sat up straight and pulled it off herself, throwing it somewhere in the corner of the room where it probably hit a lamp.

Emily's fingers traced lightly across Naomi's bare stomach and then up to Naomi's breasts. She pushed Naomi's bra up and out of the way before she ran her thumb across Naomi's nipples. A shot of pleasure so intense it made the throbbing between her legs begin to develop into an ache ripped through her body. She pulled her bra over her head instead of unhooking it and leaned back down to kiss Emily again. Her hips rolled down, seeking any kind of friction, and were rewarded when Emily's leg slipped in between hers and applied pressure. The feeling, even through jeans and the cotton of her panties, was enough to make her eyes roll back in her head.

The jeans were bad. They needed to go. Preferably with all the rest of their clothes.

"You first," she said. She reached down and unbuttoned Emily's jeans.

"But -"

Naomi cut her off with a kiss, and continued to kiss her as she fought to wiggle Emily's jeans past her hips. Emily's hands helped and eventually she pulled them off completely, almost falling backwards off her bed in the process, in a way that made them both giggle but did nothing to dispel the rising tension in the air. She hooked her fingers into the elastic of Emily's panties and paused for a moment.

Emily's hands covered hers. "We can stop right now and I won't be mad," she said quietly.

If anything, that cemented the decision in Naomi's mind. She placed a small kiss on Emily's knuckles. "Just savoring the moment," she said, before she pulled them down and off. The moment she realized that Emily was naked underneath her, she also knew she needed to feel Emily's skin against her own. She leaned backwards so she could wiggle out of her own jeans and knickers, and then she laid herself over Emily.

Emily reached up and cradled her head, pulling her into a kiss that sent Naomi's head spinning into the stratosphere. Or maybe that was the feeling of every bit of Emily's naked skin pressing against her own. She wasn't sure.

She ran her hand down Emily's body, and her first experimental swipe through the wetness between Emily's legs had Emily moaning into the kiss. She ran her fingers through again, paying special attention to the bundle of nerves she knew was just underneath her fingers. Emily pulled away from the kiss and cursed. Her hand shot down and she tilted Naomi's hand a little to the left.

"There," she breathed out on the tail end of another moan.

Naomi obediently applied more pressure and Emily's hips rocked up into her hand. She made a needy little sound in the back of her throat that Naomi loved so much she started rubbing her fingers in a circle in order to hear it again.

"Inside," Emily panted.

Naomi dipped two fingers down and hesitated just a moment, a sudden force of nerves coming into play. But Emily's skin was hot against her own, and Emily's moans were loud in her ear, and fucking hell, Naomi had never loved anything or anyone as much as she loved Emily Fitch in that moment. She pushed in and Emily cried out so loud that for a second Naomi thought she was doing it wrong. Except then Emily was rocking her hips against Naomi's hand and asking her to move harder, to go faster, and Naomi buried her face into Emily's sweaty neck as she complied.

They settled into a rhythm, Naomi's hand thrusting in as Emily's hips rocked up, and before long Emily was gripping Naomi's biceps and making little high-pitched whimpers. She clenched around Naomi's fingers and cried out, yelling Naomi's name, and she cursed breathlessly as she came down from her high. Naomi pulled her hand back reluctantly, because Emily had been warm and wet and, my God, she wanted to do that again.

Emily brought her hands up and stroked back Naomi's hair. She kissed any part of Naomi's skin that she could reach. "You are the most perfect, lovely, wonderful person," she gasped out as she tried to regulate her breathing.

Naomi smiled. "This afterglow talk is brilliant," she said cheekily, even though her whole body still felt like a coiled spring ready to explode at any moment, "Please continue."

"Oh, I intend to," Emily purred.

Before Naomi had time to react, she was being rolled over, and sudden it was Emily's body covering her own instead of the other way around. Emily's hands spread slowly down from Naomi's shoulders to her breasts, and Naomi shuddered when she felt the tickle of Emily's hair as she leaned over and ran her lips over the curve of Naomi's right breast. She placed a kiss across the top of Naomi's nipple before her warm lips covered it and she sucked. Naomi arched up into the contact with a cry of pleasure that echoed through the room. Emily nipped very lightly at the skin on her breast before she repeated the same treatment on the other breast.

Naomi's heart was going a million times a minute. She felt like every atom in her body was vibrating, trying to escape, or simply enjoying basking in the flames of the fire Emily was setting. Emily's hair trailed across her body as she made her way down Naomi's stomach, pausing to make Naomi's hips buck up when she ran her tongue around Naomi's belly button.

Emily whispered something, but before Naomi could ask what she said (if she was even in the right state of mind to ask) Emily's warm lips were around her clit and sucking, and she forgot everything except the way that Emily's lips, teeth, and tongue were making her feel. Her legs shook, and Emily's arms kept them down and steady. Then Emily was pushing two fingers slowly inside of her, and it was a glorious fullness that Naomi welcomed with every fiber of her being. She canted her hips upwards, searching for more depth, more power, more anything, and Emily gave it to her.

It didn't take long before she could feel the familiar tightness begin to coil low in her stomach. She tugged at Emily's shoulders because she wanted her up there, and when she came it was with Emily's mouth on hers and a smile on her lips.

They both collapsed into the knotted sheets afterward, panting, and Naomi reached out to pull Emily into her. Their sweaty bodies stuck to each other, but it was fine, in fact it was the most fine Naomi had ever felt in her entire life.

"Wow," she said. "So that's what all the fuss is about."

Emily laughed, and cuddled closer, and laughed some more. "Interesting ideas you have about relieving mental stress," she murmured.

Naomi put her hand right over Emily's heart, where she could feel it racing underneath her palm. "I wanted to help," she said. "And I wanted you."

"You have me," Emily replied quickly. "I promise. You have me for as long as you want me."

Naomi reached down and pulled the blanket up to cover them. The night air felt cold against their rapidly drying skin. Emily cuddled into her and Naomi's head spun at the feeling of their breasts pressing together again, but her body was too tired to do anything about it.

They were just beginning to drift off to sleep when Emily spoke again. "Naomi," she said, so softly and sleepily that the name almost became one syllable.

"Hmm?" Naomi hummed.

"I think I love you."

Naomi's heart leapt into the stratosphere. She felt like crying. She felt like making love to Emily all over again. Naomi had fallen in love with Emily Fitch the way you trip over a hidden stair: suddenly and shockingly. And yet, she couldn't find it within herself to regret the fall.

Instead of answering right away she tightened her hold on Emily and pressed a hand sign into Emily's bare shoulder blade. She couldn't say the words right now because they wouldn't come out the way she wanted them to, but she pressed her hand against Emily's skin with her thumb, index finger, and pinkie sticking up, and the rest of her fingers curled into a fist. She could feel Emily smile against her skin because she knew what that meant. One of the most common hand signals in the world.

_I love you too._

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><p><strong>I know this chapter was a little shorter than you're used to, but I sincerely hope that it lived up to your expectations. In fact I'm really really nervous to know if it did or not, so please relieve my nerves with the little blue button you should see around here somewhere. I'd love to know what you thought about it, favorite bits, parts you didn't like, the usual. Also, to answer a few questions I've been asked along these lines: at this point we are just about exactly halfway done with this story. So you've still got me for a little while longer. <strong>

**This chapter was written because I did not, at all, like the way that Skins handled Effy's depression and suicide attempt. As someone who is unfortunately very familiar with mental illness along these lines I sought to approach it in a different way here. I hope you all like the way I handled it. **

**See you all on Monday. If I'm not eaten by a bear. You know, I'm not sure if there are actually bears in Vermont, but I do not plan to find out this weekend. **

**Love you all very much. ~An overly sappy ****FS**


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